D'Angelo Russell's Contract Decision Makes Mavericks Look Even Smarter for Trading Him

The Mavericks should be thankful they were able to get rid of D'Angelo Russell when they could.

Nov 14, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard D'Angelo Russell (5) brings the ball up court against the LA Clippers during the second half in an NBA Cup game at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks made a bold decision at this past trade deadline to send out Anthony Davis, who was the main return for the infamously disastrous Luka Doncic trade. As talented as Davis was, he hardly played for the Mavericks due to injury and was making way too much money.

The total trade ended up being Anthony Davis, Jaden Hardy, D'Angelo Russell, and Dante Exum for Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Tyus Jones, Marvin Bagley III, and five total draft picks, including a first and second-round pick in this year's talented draft. A lot of fans were underwhelmed by that return, but it accomplished a few things.

The first was getting some draft capital back in the cupboard. The Mavericks didn't have much, as they still don't control their first-round pick until 2031. This trade gave them some adaptability.

It was also a massive financial win. Anthony Davis is set to make over $58 million this coming season and couldn't play at least 30 games in more than a year as a Maverick. That's not something you can pay that much money for. Jaden Hardy was making $6 million, and D'Angelo Russell has a player option this season for $5.9 million, with neither player being good enough to be in an NBA rotation.

Per source: D’Angelo Russell has opted in to his 2026-27 player option with the Wizards worth $6 million.

— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 19, 2026

Russell opted into his player contract on Friday, despite never appearing for the Wizards after the trade. They were hoping they could trade him or buy him out last year, but those never came to fruition. They'll likely try to move him again this offseason, but no one is going to take that gamble anymore.

The fact that the Mavericks were able to lump Russell into that deal while still getting back expiring contracts and draft picks can be seen as nothing but a win.

Nov 29, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard D'Angelo Russell (5) warms up prior to the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

D'Angelo Russell Can't Waste a Mavericks Roster Spot Anymore

Nico Harrison thought D'Angelo Russell would be able to bounce back from a bad 2024-25 season to hold down the starting guard spot until Kyrie Irving returned from injury. There were just two issues, though.

The first is that Kyrie Irving never returned. He ended up missing the entire season due to his ACL injury. The other is that Jason Kidd despised D'Angelo Russell, and he had every reason to. Russell took horrible shots, didn't give any effort on defense, and often looked like he didn't want to be there.

It just turns out that the Mavericks didn't want him there either after Nico Harrison was fired.