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Brooklyn Nets
Dallas Mavericks
Aug 7, 2025 2:17 PM EDT
This offseason, the Dallas Mavericks signed free agent point guard D’Angelo Russell to a two-year, $13 million contract with the hopes that he could take over for the injured Kyrie Irving and run the offense for Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, and Cooper Flagg.
Across Russell’s ten NBA seasons, he has averaged 17.3 points and 5.7 assists while shooting 36.5 percent from 3-point range, so he should be more than serviceable for the Mavericks.
Before heading to Dallas, Russell had played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, and Minnesota Timberwolves. While he is yet to win a ring, he has seen firsthand how historically great teams like the Lakers and Warriors carry themselves.
However, he doesn’t plan on bringing any of the traits he learned in LA or Golden State to Dallas. Instead, he hopes they work like the Nets did from 2017-19.
“The organization in Brooklyn is different,” he told Dwyane Wade. “It’s unlike any other. The performance team, coach, everything about Brooklyn is different than you would expect, and I’ve been around the league, where I came from the Lakers, where the structure is not the same, and then I go to Brooklyn, where it’s all structure, and it taught me how to be a professional. I always approached the game to where I was just kind of nonchalant, and I felt like I could just wing it.”
Russell made his lone All-Star team with the Nets, and the 2018-19 Nets made the playoffs, but were more well-known for their seemingly fun routines.
Headlined by Russell, Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert, and Jarrett Allen, that Nets team quickly became a social media darling.
According to Russell, behind closed doors, the team was remarkably serious and emphasised smart recovery, something the Mavericks, built around injury-prone stars, could learn a thing or two from.
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Jonah Kubicek