It probably wouldn’t come as a surprise if I told you a lot has changed since the beginning of the year for the Dallas Mavericks. As Mavericks fans were still in the early stages of licking their wounds from the Luka Dončić trade, the basketball gods decided it would be a good time to throw salt in those wounds just 30 days later. On a seemingly uneventful Monday night in March, Kyrie Irving went down with an ACL tear in his left leg, all but ending the tumultuous 2024-2025 season for Dallas.
Irving is progressing, but his timetable is still uncertain, and he likely won’t see the court until 2026. So where does that leave the Mavs at the point guard position? The front office didn’t have to look far to recruit and sign former All-Star and former Anthony Davis teammate D’Angelo Russell, who signed a two-year $13 million deal with the Mavs.
Russell has been somewhat of a journeyman, but that has never come with a lack of production. He’s entering his 11th year on two stints with the Lakers and Nets, and one each with the Timberwolves and Warriors. He has career averages of 17.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game. Additionally, he’s 43% from the floor, 37% from three, and 80% from the line. While these numbers may not pop off the page, Dallas needs offense from their backcourt, desperately.
Fans tend to be on one side of the fence or the other on D’Angelo Russell. While many love his ability to create, facilitate, and drop 20 on any given night, others would say he’s inconsistent, immature, and an OK at best backup point guard.
But if you asked him? He gave his answer to Nick Angstadt and Isaac Harris of the _Locked on Mavs_ podcast during media day.
_“I think a guy you know like me, plugging into a system like this…not every team has a coach that’s played, has the credibility with the team that’s already here, not including me…and you plug me into that…I’ve had limited structure in my career. To get to an organization that has, as you can see, has full-on structure, from the youth, coaches, veterans…to plug me into something like that, I like my odds.“_
Well, he’s not wrong. Russell was drafted into an awkward Lakers rebuild, as part of the post-Kobe era. He then went to the Nets pre-Harden/Kyrie/Durant before he headed west and had his one All-Star season with the Warriors in 2019-2020, in a lost year with a plethora of injuries. He packed and headed north to Minnesota as they tried to build around new prospects Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards. He then joined the Lakers in 2023 as the point guard for Lebron James and Anthony Davis. He had a short tenure (again) with Brooklyn last season before entering free agency.
Throughout his career, “DLo” as they call him, has entered a wide variety of circumstances with no real consistency. He enters this season with an established team and coach, and a good mix of youth and experienced players.
With no Kyrie until 2026, Russell will likely be given some freedom to operate as he wants, especially with his good relationship with Anthony Davis. Outside of plugging the point guard hole, another key goal for Dallas this upcoming season will be getting AD comfortable. Russell can help with that. Although time together was short on the Lakers, it’s clear there’s good rapport with Russell and Davis and Dallas will lean on that.
This success of Russell’s first season in blue will revolve around how well he adapts to Dallas’s unique situation of being frontcourt heavy. The Mavs will be reliant on his playmaking and shot creation to stay afloat during Kyrie’s absence. Spacing will be the sink or swim tale for Dallas in the 2025-2026 season. Russell needs space to operate, and the paint can’t be too packed. This would favor opportunities for pick-and-pop action with AD (or even Lively II if Kidd decides to get creative). Russell is a great pick-and-roll option for the bigs. He and AD thrived in LA on P&R. One of his go-to shots is a simple pull-up jumper from either elbow, which he can hit in his sleep. He also favors athletic wing-runners that can catch lobs or go backdoor for easy buckets (I’m looking at you Cooper Flagg). In other words, Russell’s versatile offensively and he’ll give Dallas options.
D’Angelo is a good pickup for the Mavs, and a bargain at worst. He was one of the best free agent options for Dallas this past summer and he can plug the point guard spot with no Kyrie. As he figures out Dallas’s system and new personnel, including one of the best prospects coming out of college in the last 25 years, he’ll settle in. Russell has been in many systems, with many superstars, and has found ways to contribute and be productive. The main difference this time is he’ll be the driver with the keys to the offense (for at least awhile). If he can keep the car on the road and from crashing, Dallas should be able to survive (and even thrive) until Kyrie returns.
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* [Dallas Mavericks Player Previews](/dallas-mavericks-player-previews)