Mavericks must avoid a deceptive D'Angelo Russell trap they should've seen coming

When Kyrie Irving tore his ACL this past March, it ignited much more frustration in the Dallas Mavericks' 2024-25 season. Without Irving, the Mavericks fell in the 2025 Play-In Tournament to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Finding a point guard who can fill the starting role for Irving while he recovers was a must for general manager Nico Harrison to kick off the offseason. To do that, the Mavericks signed D'Angelo Russell to a two-year contract. Russell's experience at 29 years old is solid to bring in, as he will be a reliable stopgap option who is an excellent shooter and passer.

Russell has shown in the past that he can be a reliable point guard when starting or coming off the bench. However, the teams that Russell has played for have made a mistake about him when it comes to his play.

Mavericks overestimating D'Angelo Russell is a recipe for disaster

Russell being taken with the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers was a sign that high potential was there for him. However, Russell has played for four different teams that made the mistake of overestimating the talent he had. It started in his first season with the Lakers.

In 2016, Russell made the NBA All-Rookie Team, but then was traded by the Lakers to the Brooklyn Nets in 2017, which was just after his second season in the NBA. Being traded after your second season, just two years after being drafted second overall, can be a sign that things are rough.

For the next two seasons, Russell showed promise in Brooklyn. In 2019, Russell made the All-Star Game for the first time in his career and led the Nets to the playoffs for the first time in four years. Russell's two years in Brooklyn helped him get a solid contract in the summer of 2019 from the Golden State Warriors.

However, Russell's Golden State tenure ended rough when he was traded during his first season in the Bay to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Russell was then traded again in the 2022-23 season by the Timberwolves, this time back to the Lakers. Then, in the 2024-25 season, Russell was traded back to the Nets. Russell wouldn't make another All-Star Game appearance after his 2019 appearance, and has only had one season of averaging 20 points per game.

With being traded the number of times Russell has it can show that teams can think he will break out big, but then he doesn't. Russell, having two stints with the Lakers and Nets, can be a warning sign for that.

This isn't saying that Russell has to be an All-Star in Dallas, but the team and their fans can't afford to expect him to be a lifesaver. Fans should expect him to be a reliable option to run the show for the first few months of the season, but he shouldn't be expected to drop big scoring games multiple times a week.

Those days in Russell's career are far behind him, and he undeniably had the worst season of his career last season. Mavericks fans will be praying that he doesn't allow his inefficient 2024-25 season to plague his new journey in Dallas.

Russell's Nets tenure in 2024-25 was rough for the Lakers and Nets combined. After averaging 18 points in 2023-24 in Los Angeles, Russell averaged below 13 points per game combined with the Lakers and Nets. Russell's average points per game in 2024-25 was his lowest since his rookie season in 2015-16.

Russell's signing could be familiar to when the Mavericks signed Deron Williams in 2015. While Williams was a steady point guard, he was past his prime in Dallas. Williams was a former All-Star with the Utah Jazz and Nets, but he wasn't the same player in Dallas.

One thing Russell can do is take the stress of handling the ball too much away from first overall pick Cooper Flagg. Expectations will be high for Flagg, and he can become the defensive focus of teams when playing the Mavericks early on, especially with Irving sidelined. However, Russell can help take the pressure away from Flagg when they're on the court together.

If the Mavericks and their fans remember that Russell is their backup point guard who just happens to be starting for the first half of the season, they'll be fine. But if fans expect him to be the Russell of old and be a star starter, they are going to be disappointed right away.