D’Angelo Russell played for the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2020 to 2023. In a multi-team deal that helped the Wolves land Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Russell was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers for his second stint in LA. While Russell had a solid first year and a half with the Lakers, he has shown signs of decline over the past two seasons.
Russell was traded to the Brooklyn Nets midway through last year and signed with the Dallas Mavericks last season. Despite Kyrie Irving being sidelined due to injury and the Mavs desperately needing a point guard, Russell has fallen out of favor in Jason Kidd’s rotation. He played just 10 minutes during Monday’s Mavs game against the Miami Heat and did not see the court during Friday’s game against the Lakers.
As previously mentioned, the Mavs are in dire need of a point guard, which makes Russell’s lack of minutes even more concerning. To put this in perspective, he’s losing minutes to undrafted guard Ryan Nembhard and Brandon Williams, who were two-way players last season. With all due respect to these players, the fact that D’Lo cannot earn minutes from them is undoubtedly a warning sign.
Overall, Russell is averaging 11.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists on 39.2/25/69.6 shooting splits this season.
Russell’s poor play makes his NBA future unclear
Even at his best, Russell has always been a difficult player to judge. His erratic decision-making as a shooter and playmaker, combined with poor defense, made his numbers look better than his impact. Although he never met Mr. Efficiency was, there is no denying that Russell could score at a high level. His play was also never the most stable, but there is no doubt that he could initiate the attack at a high pace.
However, now that Russell’s shooting ability has plummeted, his impact is limited. If Russell can’t play over Nembhard and Williams, there’s no chance he’ll crack the rotation when Kyrie Irving presumably returns.
We now have a two-year sample size that suggests D’Lo is no longer the same player. Last year, Russell averaged 12.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists on 39/31.4/83.4 shooting splits. At this point, Russell’s career is at a crossroads.
I’m sure the Mavericks would love to trade him, but who would want him? He would probably have to be used as a salary filler if he is traded. Russell has one year left on his contract. After that, however, it is unclear whether another team will want to give him another chance.
What is clear is that the The Timberwolves didn’t stop him after all.
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