Mavericks' biggest disappointment from last season still isn't happy with Dallas

The Dallas Mavericks traded D'Angelo Russell to the Washington Wizards as part of the Anthony Davis trade back in February, and he's still upset about how his time in Dallas went nearly six months after they traded him.

D'Angelo Russell sends shots at the Mavericks

"Bird can’t fly in cage," Russell posted on X on Wednesday morning.

This post was in response to a video more than 15 minutes long showcasing Russell's Mavericks highlights. The post stated that Russell set Dallas' franchise record for 20/5/5 games off the bench and was the only player in the NBA to average at least 10 points and four assists in 19 minutes per game or less last season.

Russell clearly believes that he deserved more opportunity while in Dallas, and he let the whole world know he thinks the Mavericks were holding him back. He seems to think that Dallas moved on from him before he could show what he was capable of when given an expanded role.

His performance, compared to expectations, was rather disappointing.

While these stats that Russell responded to are intriguing, they ignore why Russell's time in Dallas was a disaster. They traded him halfway into his first year of a two-year contract, if that says anything, but even that is just the tip of the iceberg of why Russell's short Mavericks stint was forgettable.

Dallas expected much more from Russell

Russell was targeted by former Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison last offseason to help patch the hole left by Kyrie Irving tearing his ACL in the season prior. Dallas needed someone in the backcourt to run the show until the nine-time All-Star returned, and Russell seemed to fit that bill initially.

Harrison and company believed that DLo could be Dallas' stopgap point guard until Irving returned and would later smoothly transition into a role off the ball. He had proven that he could play on or off the ball in other spots, and the Mavericks seemed like a great, low-risk fit for him.

Many Mavericks fans were on board with this signing when it happened, as Dallas needed any point guard help they could get. Russell seemed like a decent option, and after the Mavericks signed him to a two-year, $11.7 million deal, the fanbase was even more excited.

Less than $6 million annually for a former NBA All-Star seemed like a steal, but Russell never gave the Mavericks the return they expected. This deal could end up being the last big contract of his NBA career once it expires after next season.

Why Russell's time with the Mavericks quickly turned sour

Harrison and Jason Kidd obviously weren't on the same page about their thoughts on the veteran guard, as Kidd played him less than 24 minutes combined over his first two games with the team. Before long, Russell was on the outskirts of the rotation and a consistent DNP-CD. The Mavericks moved on in February, and the D'Angelo Russell experience in Dallas was over before it even began.

A player who was supposed to be the team's starting point guard and had plenty of hype surrounding him turned into the Mavericks' biggest disappointment of the 2025-26 season. No one else was expected to be a starter and later found themself out of the rotation.

The weaknesses that held him back earlier in his career returned, and Kidd's trust in him wavered.

Dallas had no reason to hold onto him any longer, and shedding his contract in the Davis trade with the Wizards was a major win for the Mavericks.

Russell's 2026 got even worse after Dallas traded him

For context on what the rest of the NBA thinks about Russell, no other teams around the league showed interest in signing him after he was traded to the Wizards. Russell and Washington were eyeing a buyout so he could sign with a playoff team for the end of last season, but no one wanted him. This caused him to stay put with the Wizards despite never reporting to Washington, and he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies this summer.

The Grizzlies are expected to buyout or trade the 30-year-old guard before the start of next season, and Russell's struggles to find a stable NBA home underline why his time in Dallas wasn't rememberable.

While he put up decent stats (10.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game) as a Maverick, these numbers proved to be empty. The concerns about his impact on winning were evident, and his inefficiency made it hard for him to stay on the court.

His tweet made it seem like the Mavericks held him back, but that's not really the case. He never proved to Kidd that he could impact winning at a high level and make his teammates better, so Dallas decided to move on.

Russell sending shots at the Mavericks this late into the offseason shows that he still hasn't gotten over how his time in Dallas went, and while his stats look good, you have to look a bit deeper to understand what his once-promising career has become.

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