Disappointing Mavericks guard may have already played his last game for the franchise

The Dallas Mavericks have stumbled, tripped and fallen flat on their face many times over the last calendar year. One of those mistakes appears to be signing D'Angelo Russell this summer, and the Mavericks could look to correct that mistake as early as Monday -- which means Russell may have already played his last game in a Dallas uniform.

In the 2024 NBA Playoffs, the Dallas Mavericks fought and clawed their way through the Western Conference to reach the NBA Finals largely because they had two elite point guards and the right mix of shooters and defenders surrounding them.

Fast forward a year, and the Mavericks entered the 2025 offseason with no point guards of any note. Luka Doncic was on the Lakers, Kyrie Irving was (and still is) recovering from a torn ACL, and Jaden Hardy's growth behind them stagnated. Other than journeyman guard Brandon Williams, the cupboard was completely bare.

The primary way that Dallas chose to address the position was not by trading one of their glut of frontcourt players, as many suggested, but instead to use their one free agency weapon and sign former Lakers and Nets point guard D'Angelo Russell to the Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception. This did two things: it signaled that the team believed in Russell as a capable fill-in starter until Kyrie returned, and it hard-capped them at the second tax apron.

D'Angelo Russell has been terrible

Unfortunately for Dallas (on many levels), Russell has been terrible from the very beginning. He was so bad in training camp that he lost the starting point guard job before he ever truly had it, with rookie power forward Cooper Flagg being forced into it.

When that did not work, the Mavericks gave Russell his shot. In three games as the starting point guard he shot 2-for-10 from distance and averaged only eight points and three assists. The Mavs lost to the New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies and barely eeked out a win over the Washington Wizards. Russell was a collective -57 in those games.

Head coach Jason Kidd thus ripped away the starting job once more and handed it to Williams. When the Mavericks were still wobbly, in came undrafted rookie Ryan Nembhard, who has stabilized the team and looks like a long-term rotation guard and a great find for Nico Harrison's team.

That leaves the Mavericks with the problem of what to do with Russell. He has had a handful of strong games, but those have been few and far between as he is overall having a terrible season. He is shooting just 40.3 percent from the field and 28.7 percent from deep, with 2.1 turnovers per game despite his reduced role.

On Friday night, the Mavericks returned from their "mini break" during the NBA Cup to play the Brooklyn Nets, Russell's old team. Russell did not play due to illness, although it's no guarantee he would have played if healthy. He has received multiple healthy scratches over the last few weeks.

What Friday night also represented was the Mavericks' last game before December 15th, which is a marker in the NBA calendar. It is on that date that all players who signed in free agency with a new team this summer become eligible to be traded. That includes D'Angelo Russell.

D'Angelo Russell could be traded

If the Mavericks have a trade lined up that includes Russell, it could be executed as early as Monday. Given how well Nembhard and Williams have played compared to Russell, he does appear to be expendable and could be auctioned off to a point guard needy team willing to take on his contract, or included in a larger deal to address another need on the Mavericks' roster.

Complicating things is that Dallas almost needs to trade Russell away and find some salary relief, because they are pressed right up against the second apron. They are at the full 15 players and cannot waive one to sign Ryan Nembhard -- there is not enough space financially. And it all goes back to Russell.

The last game that D'Angelo Russell played for Dallas was on December 6th, when they shocked the Houston Rockets in an upset victory. He scored four points, with two assists and three turnovers. That could be the final performance for Russell.

He may come back and play better for Dallas. He might stick around but ride the bench. He might be traded as early as Monday. With uncertainty swirling around both Russell and the Mavericks, nothing is certain.