Copyright Lake Show Life
D'Angelo Russell was supposed to be a serviceable stopgap for the Dallas Mavericks until Kyrie Irving returned from his torn ACL injury. That was the vision when the Mavericks signed him to a two-year deal, close to $11.7 million. The Los Angeles Lakers could only snicker from afar at their West rivals. It is still early in the season, but the Mavericks have not even been able to trust Russell enough to consistently put him in the starting lineup. That has only happened once. Dallas has been forced to experiment with Cooper Flagg at their starting point guard spot. It has not been successful. The Mavericks, who had plenty of playoff aspirations, are quickly plummeting to the bottom of the Western Conference standings in the get-go of 2025-26. Their failing offense has been the primary driving force behind that. Has Russell done his part, at the very least? No. The Mavericks guard has been woeful when the team needs him most. That is a feeling the Lakers know all too well. D'Angelo Russell will never be the reliable option a winning team needs Russell's best season as an NBA pro was with the Brooklyn Nets in 2018-19 when the team overachieved expectations and made the postseason. The former Nets guard was rewarded with his lone All-Star appearances as a result. That success got the Golden State Warriors interested, who added him as a part of Kevin Durant heading to Brooklyn. The Warriors decided before the season was over that Russell did not fit their team and culture. The former second overall pick was quickly becoming a well-travelled player, now joining up with the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was there that his performances once again gauged the interest of a team with true winning aspirations. That was the Lakers, who brought him in via trade in 2023. There were some highs, but eventually Russell crashed and burned during his second opportunity in Los Angeles. The biggest point of contention was him disappearing when it really mattered. A prime example of that was the 2023 Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets. In the four-game series loss, Russell averaged 6.3 points and 3.5 assists per game, barely hitting the side of a barn, shooting 32.3 percent from the field and 13.3 from beyond the arc. The Mavericks are already seeing those horrific shooting numbers for their team. Despite the strong scoring average for Russell, his efficiency has been disappointing thus far. While not the driving force of failure, his struggles have certainly not helped a team who have suffered with one of the worst offenses in the NBA in 2025-26. The Lakers probably could have warned the Mavericks this would happen. In all fairness, it is doubtful they would have listened.
