Mavericks' Biggest Offseason Signing Was a Mistake They Can't Afford to Make Again

The Dallas Mavericks desperately need to improve this offseason. They went just 26-56 in the 2025-26 season, their second-worst record since the start of the century, and a lot of it can be traced back to bad personnel decisions.

Dallas only made three moves in the 2025 free agency: re-signing Kyrie Irving, waiving Olivier-Maxence Prosper to sign Dante Exum, and signing D'Angelo Russell. If they want to take that next step, they have to take free agency a little more seriously, signing players who can actually make an impact.

While waiving and stretching Prosper's contract for the next three seasons to sign a player who wouldn't play a minute because of injuries was bad enough, it still wasn't worse than signing D'Angelo Russell while giving him a player option. It was clear that Russell's career was trending downhill. The 2024-25 season was the worst season of his career in scoring and three-point shooting. Nico Harrison believed Russell could bounce back to form, and to the surprise of no one, Harrison was wrong.

Russell was even worse in 2025-26, averaging just 10.2 PPG while shooting 29.5% from three. Jason Kidd did not like playing him, mostly because of his shot IQ and horrific defense, as Russell appeared in just 26 games before he was shipped off to the Washington Wizards in the Anthony Davis trade. From the moment he got to Washington, they made it clear he wasn't going to play for them. They explored buyout options and said he wouldn't be with the team, but he is still on their roster, as of now.

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

Dallas Mavericks Were Lucky To Free Themselves of Another Nico Harrison Disaster

The trade with the Washington Wizards freed the Mavericks of a lot of Nico Harrison mistakes. Anthony Davis, D'Angelo Russell, and Jaden Hardy were all players not living up to the contracts they had. To get out of that much future money while still gaining draft capital was a major win for the Mavericks.

Coach Kidd deemed Hardy and Russell mostly unplayable, which isn't that surprising. They both have bad basketball IQ, weren't good playmakers, and could become black holes on offense.

The Mavericks needed to add playmaking last offseason and still need to this offseason. They have a lottery pick with a lot of talented guards possibly on the board, depending on how the draft order shakes up. They added Ryan Nembhard as an undrafted free agent, but his ceiling is likely a backup in the NBA.

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