Russell Westbrook’s retirement brought about a whole slew of eulogies and tributes (here’s mine!), but somewhat lost in the shuffle was an interesting comment by his agent, Jeff Schwartz:
excel basketball@excelbasketball
From our Founder & CEO, Jeff Schwartz:
"Incredible, the Lakers sell for $12B, yet teams won't spend on older vets because of current CBA rules. Thank you, Union."
3:16 PM · Aug 12, 2026 · 772K Views
42 Replies · 145 Reposts · 713 Likes
(Marc Stein has since reported that Brodie rebuffed two teams interested in signing him to a contract, which puts that tweet in a different context.)
Schwartz’s wrath — somewhat hilariously misplaced, given that his agency managed to nab DeAndre Jordan two guaranteed years from the New Orleans Pelicans and Khris Middleton three years and a partially-guaranteed $18 million from the Wizards, among others — did pique my curiosity. When viewed in the aggregate, did the league spend on vets in 2025-26? And was that money well-spent?