D’Angelo Russell once carried the weight of being the Los Angeles Lakers’ second overall pick in the 2015 draft, a young guard praised for the ice in his veins. A decade later, the 30-year-old finds himself defined less by that early promise and more by the teams that have moved on from him.
The Lakers shipped him out twice. Since then he has bounced from Brooklyn to Golden State, Minnesota, Dallas and Washington before landing in Memphis this summer as part of a six-team trade.
Stability has been scarce.
Last season Russell appeared in only 30 games for the Mavericks before another midseason deal sent him to the Wizards. July brought yet another change of address. Now the Grizzlies sit well over the roster limit, and cuts are coming. NBA insider Jake Fischer placed Russell among the veterans most likely to be let go.
“I don’t think D’Angelo Russell is long for the Grizzlies’ world,” Fischer said during a Bleacher Report livestream. The Stein Line later identified him as the “most likely vet to be cast aside.”
Lake Show Life’s Syvatoslav Rovenchuk framed the moment in starker terms.
“Russell could soon be in the same position as another former top-five pick of the Lakers, Lonzo Ball,” Rovenchuk wrote. “At this point of his career, Russell is a known quantity. That can sometimes be a good thing for NBA veterans. In his case, it may not be enough to land his next gig. Russell’s best hopes might be to get a training camp deal with one of the teams that does still have an open roster spot. The veteran guard can plead his case in that setting. Otherwise, it may not be long until he is out of the league completely.”
The picture is not entirely bleak. Teams still hunting for backcourt help could offer a lifeline. Miami Heat reporter Ira Winderman noted that Russell remains a possible option if he becomes available before camp.
“This also was in reference to where the Heat roster stands, now that we are within three weeks of the start of training camp,” Winderman wrote.
“But unless some type of sure thing suddenly comes available, there also is something to be said about running with what you have at the moment, while still having a salary slot/roster spot available for a rainy day. Then it becomes about when to pounce, be it on D’Angelo Russell potentially coming free before camp or waiting for something bigger down the road.”
Any new deal would almost certainly be at the veteran minimum. Over 11 seasons Russell has averaged 17 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists.
Those numbers once suggested a long career as a starting point guard. Now they may only buy him one more chance to prove he still belongs. Whether that chance arrives in Miami or elsewhere, the window is narrowing.
