Mavericks' latest power move signals a major trade is lurking in the shadows

With Jason Kidd now involved in basketball decisions after the firing of Nico Harrison, it seems obvious that the Dallas Mavericks will at least look to trade D'Angelo Russell this season.

With the Mavericks still looking for their full-time general manager to replace Harrison, Patrick Dumont is relying upon a basketball cabinet to collectively make the decisions to move the franchise forward. ESPN's Tim MacMahon called Dumont's plan a "GM by committee approach," and reported that Michael Finley, Matt Riccardi, Mark Cuban, and Kidd will be part of this select group.

Despite being the head coach, MacMahon reported that Kidd "has as much influence as anyone in the organization after signing a contract extension during the preseason." It seems extremely likely that Dumont heavily relies upon Kidd and the rest of the front office before making any trades, especially after seeing how the Luka Doncic trade worked out, and Russell already may have one foot out the door.

D'Angelo Russell doesn't seem like a long-term Maverick

Russell was the Mavericks' big offseason signing, and it was clear early on that he was one of Harrison's guys. Their primary free agency focus was to find a stopgap starting point guard for the first few months while also finding someone who could play next to Kyrie Irving. Boldly, they thought that Russell was going to be that guy. Harrison seemed to believe that Russell was going to be able to produce enough to replace Irving's production until he returned from injury, but that has been far from the case.

Russell is averaging a career-low 11.9 points per game while shooting a putrid 25 percent from downtown, and he could find himself being a salary filler in a trade that the Mavericks make over the next few months. To make matters worse, Dallas gave him a $5.9 million player option in his contract for next year. With how poorly he is playing, it seems like a guarantee that he opts in. No other team is going to pay him that much after seeing his performance over the last two seasons.

He has failed to meet the steep expectations that Mavericks fans had for him, but most importantly, he has fallen out of favor with Kidd.

Even over the first few games, it was clear that Kidd didn't trust Russell. He played a combined 24 minutes over the opening two games, and while he later earned more of Kidd's trust and started in three games, that trust quickly disappeared.

He has been a DNP-CD over the last few games, and Kidd has elected for Ryan Nembhard, a two-way rookie, and Brandon Williams to run the show rather than Russell. His inconsistency, inefficiency, and defensive struggles have kept him on the bench, and Mavericks fans' worst fears about him came true.

Having your marquee free agency addition fall completely out of the rotation on a 6-15 team is easily in worst-case scenario territory, and it would be a shock to no one if he gets moved over the next two months.