When Russell Westbrook announced his retirement last week, it wasn’t because nobody wanted to sign him for the upcoming season, Marc Stein of the Stein Line writes in his latest Substack column (subscriber link).

League sources tell Stein that the Wizards made a two-year offer for the 37-year-old point guard to return to Washington. Westbrook ended those negotiations, according to Stein, either due to dissatisfaction over the financial terms of the contract or the role he was being asked to play.

Westbrook almost certainly would have been a backup with the Wizards, who landed an established point guard when they acquired Trae Young from Atlanta in January. The team made a massive commitment to Young by giving him a new four-year, $212.8MM contract this summer, and he’s expected to be healthy again after appearing in just 15 games last season.

With no path toward a starting role and the potential of scant playing time on a roster filled with young guards, Westbrook declined the opportunity to extend his career with one of his former teams. He played for Washington during the 2020/21 season and became a fan favorite as he helped the team reach the playoffs.

Stein and Jake Fischer reported two weeks ago that the Kings were considering re-signing Westbrook after his strong performance last season. But Stein states that Westbrook wasn’t excited about that situation either, as he likely would have been a mentor and possible backup to first-round pick Darius Acuff Jr.

Westbrook was also expected to be a backup when he signed a veteran’s minimum deal with Sacramento last October, just a few days before the start of the regular season. He quickly took the starting job away from Dennis Schröder, whom the Kings had just given a three-year, $44.4MM contract in a sign-and-trade.

Westbrook wound up starting 58 of the 64 games he played, prompting Sacramento to trade Schröder to Cleveland in February. He averaged 15.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.7 assists in the final season of his 18-year career.