D'Angelo Russell's contract decision turns Mavericks' trade into more of a win

D'Angelo Russell's time with the Dallas Mavericks was filled with disappointment after Nico Harrison decided to sign him to a two-year contract before last season began, and his recent contract move made Dallas' decision to move on from him look like even more of a win. According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, Russell opted into his $6 million player option with the Washington Wizards over the weekend.

Mavericks would've been stuck with Russell had they not traded him

Harrison decided to give him a player option on the two-year deal that the Mavs signed him to last summer, and Dallas dodged a headache by trading him in the Anthony Davis trade back in February. Dallas now has the flexibility to pursue a new point guard in free agency or the draft rather than rostering a player who doesn't fit their timeline and has a questionable impact on winning.

Offloading the rest of Davis' contract was already a steal, and Russell's decision to opt into his player option makes this trade lean further in Dallas' favor.

Had the Mavericks held onto Russell, they would've been stuck with him for the 2026-27 season as well. There is no world in which Russell would opt out of a $6 million player option after playing as poorly as he did last season, and Dallas looks extremely smart for including him in the Davis deal.

This trade with the Wizards allowed the Mavericks to get rid of Davis' contract and flip the page on the new era, but Russell's contract was a major liability as well. He's set to make $6 million next season after averaging a career-low 10.2 points per game while shooting 40.5 percent from the field and a career-low 29.5 percent from three.

DLo clearly wasn't the answer to Dallas' point guard problem that they needed while Kyrie Irving recovered from a torn ACL, and the Mavericks were ready to move on just half a season into his two-year contract. His role differed significantly from what fans expected when the team signed him, as many expected him to be the team's stopgap guard while Irving was out.

Jason Kidd clearly didn't think this way, though, as he played him less than 24 minutes over the team's first two games. Before long, Russell turned into a nightly DNP-CD until the Mavs traded him to the Wizards.

Russell's time in Washington has been forgettable

Russell's trend of not playing continued into his time with Washington, as he didn't report to D.C. after being traded there. Now, the Wizards will be paying him for another season despite him seemingly not wanting to be there after the trade. The 30-year-old guard wanted a buyout to go play for a contender, but no teams showed interest in him.

Things have changed so much over the last few years for the one-time All-Star, as he's gone from a year-over-year starter to an afterthought. The Mavericks evaded having him on their books for this season by sending him to Washington, and him opting into his player option validated their decision to move on even more.

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