A recent report linking Russell Westbrook to Hapoel Tel Aviv is “laughably false,” a source close to the situation tells Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link). It’s the second time in as many years that a report connecting Westbrook to the EuroLeague club has been emphatically shot down. In June 2025, Hapoel Tel Aviv’s general manager said that speculation about a potential deal with the former NBA MVP was “100% fake news.” For what it’s worth, Westbrook didn’t sign with Sacramento until October 16 last year. Here are a few more highlights from Stein’s latest dispatch of NBA intel: