NBA free agency will get underway on Monday evening, with teams around the league looking to scoop up the top available talent as they chase their goals for next season. With the reigning NBA Champions Oklahoma City Thunder, set to return a majority of their roster, contenders around the league will continue making moves to try and compete.
For the Dallas Mavericks, despite trading away Luka Doncic, they have a chance at being a playoff team next year if Cooper Flagg can be that franchise-changing piece, and the rest of the roster comes together. Kyrie Irving is set to miss the beginning of the season, and rumors are linking the Mavericks to a former Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors guard to fill the void.According to NBA insider Marc Stein, ex-Lakers and Warriors guard D’Angelo Russell is trending toward signing a deal with the Mavericks. Russell spent this past season with the Brooklyn Nets after being traded from the Lakers in the Dorian Finney-Smith deal near the trade deadline.
The second-overall pick from the 2015 NBA Draft, Russell was named an All-Star in 2019 during his career-best season with the Nets. Since then, he’s had productive stops with Golden State, Minnesota, and Los Angeles, and might have a new home in Dallas. A talented offensive player, Russell has lacked consistency while being a net negative defensively.Therefore, a move to Dallas could make a lot of sense for Russell, as he’d be surrounded by elite defenders and could get back in the groove serving as the starter before Irving returns. Reports on Russell agreeing to terms on a deal with the Mavericks could come as soon as Monday evening.
