Free agent guard D'Angelo Russell has signed a two-year deal with the Mavericks to serve as a temporary replacement for the injured Kyrie Irving.
Free agent guard D'Angelo Russell has agreed to a two-year, $13 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks, according to Shams Charania of ESPN. The second year of the contract will be a player option.
ESPN's Bobby Marks reports that the Mavs will use the taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Russell, which will hard-cap them at the second tax apron. Dallas now sits about $1.6 million below that threshold.
The Mavericks view the 33-year-old Kyrie Irving as their long-term point guard, but with Irving recovering from a torn ACL and expected to miss most—if not all—of the 2025–26 season, the team needed a stopgap starter who can eventually slide into a backup role.
A former All-Star, Russell is taking a significant pay cut after earning $18.7 million last season.
He is coming off a down year, averaging 12.6 points, 5.1 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.0 steals in 58 games split between the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets (25.5 minutes per game).
His scoring average and playing time were both career lows.
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