Mavericks face an ugly D'Angelo Russell problem ahead of trade deadline

The Dallas Mavericks have been rolling recently, but marquee offseason signee D'Angelo Russell's play has not been a factor in that equation, as Russell has been in and out of the lineup, and Dallas has no clear solution to Russell not being a rotation-caliber player on this roster. Dallas brought in Russell on a one-plus-one via the Taxpayer's MLE this offseason, and while Shams Charania reported Dallas will explore Russell's trade value, it seems like they'll be hard-pressed to find a suitable deal.

Russell's inefficiency this season mirrors the downward trend he saw playing with the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets last season, as he's posting shooting splits of 40.3/28.7/70.7 through 21 games. He's flashed some great spurts of playmaking and shot creation through his time in Dallas, but his poor shot selection and decision-making have overridden the positives he brings, as he hasn't put together a consistent stretch this season whatsoever.

Russell's been a minus defender throughout his career, and this has followed suit in Dallas as well, with Brandon Williams and even Ryan Nembhard proving to be more competent on that end compared to Russell, despite Russell being bigger and having more length than both of those guys. With Russell having an almost $6.0 million player option this coming season, Dallas would likely love to trade him before the deadline if at all possible, but his trade market is likely in the doldrums right now.

The Mavericks don't have a clean way to move on from D'Angelo Russell

The main way to offload negative assets in the NBA is by attaching draft capital to them in a prospective trade, but Dallas isn't in a position to do this with Russell, considering they don't own any of their first-round picks until 2031 besides this upcoming draft.

The Mavericks could also explore pairing Russell in aggregate with someone like Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford, or Klay Thompson in a potential trade, but Russell's inclusion in that type of deal would likely weigh down whatever return package the Mavericks would be getting. No move is ever impossible to make in the NBA, like Mavericks fans saw last February, but it's becoming increasingly unlikely Russell will be tradable ahead of the February 5 deadline.

While Russell may have been able to command more money on the open market this past offseason if he signed elsewhere instead of Dallas, this doesn't project to be the case this upcoming offseason, given that it will be two seasons in a row of his efficiency drastically declining on the offensive end. Prospective suitors for Russell ahead of this trade deadline will likely be turned off by this factor, considering how rough he's played, and the Mavericks can't do anything about it.

Dallas' best bet to getting Russell off their books would undoubtedly be including him in a trade with another player they might be shopping, as aforementioned, but they are going to have a tough time driving up his stock with Williams and Nembhard being clear fixtures in the rotation ahead of him, especially if Jason Kidd continues to give Russell DNP-CDs.

All Mavericks fans can do is pray Russell continues to can some shots in his occasional minutes off the bench where he's been playing off-ball more as a shooting guard recently. There doesn't appear to be a clear path toward him getting consistent minutes with Kyrie Irving potentially returning this season still, and trading Russell for a decent return will be harder than ever at this point.