Mavericks' Dream of Trading Wasted Free Agent Signing May Be Dead

The Dallas Mavericks hoped to get off this salary, but they may not have the chance anymore.

Dec 25, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard D'Angelo Russell (5) warms up before the game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The NBA's trade deadline is Thursday, and we've just now started to see a little movement. Two more trades happened this weekend, as the Cavs got a lot of salary and tax relief while somehow making their roster deeper, and the Hawks added a few second-round picks to their arsenal for sending out Vit Krejci.

A lot of eyes are on the Dallas Mavericks, who have a lot of players that don't fit Cooper Flagg's timeline, and that has to be of the utmost importance for them.

One player they were hoping to move was D'Angelo Russell, who has played in just one game since the turn of the new year. He hasn't been injured; he just isn't a good player anymore, and Jason Kidd doesn't trust him. One team that was showing interest in potentially trading for him was the Milwaukee Bucks, but that appears to be dead after Russell didn't want to cave to something for the Bucks, per Marc Stein.

"The Stein Line has learned, however, that the Bucks were interested in Russell only if he were willing to decline his $6 million player option for next season to instead come back to the Bucks next season on a veteran minimum instead. Word is that Russell balked at that idea. The veteran minimum for players with at least 10 seasons of service time was $3.6 million this season."

Dec 29, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard D'Angelo Russell (5) warms up before a game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

READ MORE: 3-Time NBA Champion Misses Entire Point About Mavericks' Cooper Flagg, Rookie Class

Dallas Mavericks May Be Stuck With D'Angelo Russell

Jason Kidd was asked about Russell's lack of playing time recently, only saying that they decided to go younger for the team, but that isn't really the case when Klay Thompson is still playing. It was just a professional way of saying that Russell isn't good enough to be in the rotation anymore, and he doesn't contribute to winning basketball.

It may be hard to dump that contract off to another team, as not many teams have money to play with. And the Mavericks would love to move off future money, especially a $6 million deal for a player who can't play for them next year, but they may have to waive him instead.

This hurts, considering that Russell was the Mavericks' only free agent move this offseason. The signs of a decline were clearly there, but Nico Harrison decided to give him a player option instead of a one-year deal or a team option. Just one more reason why Harrison is no longer the general manager.

READ MORE: Jason Kidd Goes Scorched Earth on Referees, Media After Mavericks Fall to Rockets

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