Russell Westbrook is going to explore his options.

The 36-year-old Nuggets guard will decline his player option for next season worth $3.4 million, according to a report from NBA insider Marc Stein on Friday. Unless Westbrook changes his mind before the June 29 deadline, the veteran guard will become an unrestricted free agent on June 30.

There are still a few ways Westbrook could return to Denver. The Nuggets could offer him anything from the veteran minimum, which is expected to be worth slight more than his player option. The Nuggets are capped at offering Westbrook anything more than a 20% raise, similar to the situation when Bruce Brown opted out after helping the Nuggets win the 2023 championship in his lone season in Denver. Or the Nuggets could use the taxpayer mid-level exception (TPMLE) worth nearly $6 million.

Denver must stay below the second apron of the salary cap to use the “TPMLE” on Westbrook or another player.

Westbrook averaged 13.3 points, 6.1 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 3.2 turnovers per game during the regular season for the Nuggets, largely outperforming his $3.3 million contract. He had his ups and downs during the postseason where he had 34 assists against 30 turnovers. After Denver’s season ended, Westbrook announced he had surgery to repair multiple ligament tears in his right hand.

Since departing Oklahoma City, the team that drafted him in 2008, after the 2018-19 season, Westbrook has played with the Houston Rockets (2019-20), Washington Wizards (2020-21), Los Angeles Lakers (2021-23) and Los Angeles Clippers (2023-24) in addition to his one-year stint in Denver.

It’s likely Westbrook will represent a seventh NBA team next season, his 18th in the NBA.