D’Angelo Russell went from being a former All-Star to a player simply looking for a roster spot. That’s quite a detour for someone who’s only 30.
Two years ago, Russell was still a starter for the Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 18.0 points and 6.3 assists per game while shooting 41.5% from three. He played 76 games and looked like a legitimate piece of one of the NBA’s biggest teams. Now? He’s a free agent.
Russell’s career has taken a sharp turn since that 2023-24 season. The Lakers traded him to Brooklyn in December 2024, ending his second stint with the franchise. He eventually landed with the Dallas Mavericks, where his role was significantly reduced.
The 2025-26 season was particularly rough. Russell appeared in just 26 games for the downtrodden Mavericks, averaging 10.2 points and 4.0 assists in 19 minutes per game. He started only three games and shot 40.5% from the field and 29.5% from three.
Things got even stranger in the 2026 offseason.
Dallas sent Russell to Washington in July, but he never played a game for the Wizards. Washington then included him in a six-team trade that sent him to Memphis. The Grizzlies ultimately waived him before training camp, meaning Russell went from being traded twice in the offseason to becoming an unrestricted free agent without playing a single game for either of his new teams.
With training camp right around the corner, he finds himself in an unfamiliar position: waiting.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the end. Russell still has 655 NBA games under his belt, a career average of 17.0 points and 5.6 assists, and the offensive skills that once made him one of the league’s more dangerous guards.
But the question is no longer whether Russell can play in the NBA. It’s whether teams believe what he brings is worth giving him meaningful minutes.
His recent production, declining shooting numbers and shrinking role suggest that his days as a reliable starting point guard may be behind him. Teams can still use a veteran guard who can handle the ball, create his own shot and run an offense for stretches. But those opportunities are becoming harder to find.
Russell’s career isn’t necessarily over. He should still get a chance somewhere. But for now, he definitely looks like a second-unit guy at best.
