Trade countdown? How bad is Russell this season?

Russell’s days with the Mavericks may be coming to an end.

According to a report from Dallas local media Dallas Hoops Journal, sources revealed that Mavericks guard Russell’s attitude in training and his laziness on the defensive end have angered many teammates.

It is worth mentioning that just one day ago, after Shams reported that "the Mavericks are listening to the offer and will completely rebuild around Flagg," the same Dallas Hoops Journal news: the Mavericks are also willing to trade D'Angelo Russell.

Not to mention the authenticity of the news, Russell is indeed a bit watery this season.

So far, Russell has played a total of 16 games for the Mavericks, averaging 22.2 minutes per game, 12.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.4 turnovers, three shooting percentages of 39.9%/25.6%/69.6%, and a true shooting percentage of only 49.8%, the lowest in his career.

For comparison, Russell last season: played 58 games for the Lakers and Nets, averaging 25.5 minutes per game, 12.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists, three shooting percentages of 39.0%/31.4%/83.4%, and a true shooting percentage of 52.2%.

Russell was already very bad last season. He joined the Mavericks this season. He originally thought that he could seize the opportunity to prove himself when Irving was injured and scarce. However, he did not expect that he played worse and worse, and even shot the worst three-pointer in his career.

Nearly half of Russell's shots this season were three-pointers, but the results were very unsatisfactory. He made 21 of 82 in total. Among them, he only made 8 of 33 wide-open three-pointers (the nearest defender was 6+ feet), with a shooting rate of 24.2%. The Mavericks' space is not good, but they can only shoot wide-open three-pointers like this, so the environment cannot be entirely blamed.

In fact, let alone three-pointers, Russell has even made poor free throws this season. His career free throw percentage is close to 80%. The previous worst was 73.7% in his rookie season, but this season it is as low as 69.6%.

Of course, Russell can also dribble and pass, and he still has the basic skills as a point guard. However, this season his assists are the lowest and the turnovers are the highest in the past three years. The current assist-to-turnover ratio is only 2.11. This number is also Russell's personal lowest since the 2020-21 season.

Also, Russell has two very bad problems.

First, the offense is unstable. In the 16 games this season, Russell scored 20+ points in 4 games, but he also failed to score in double figures in 9 games. He can make 16 of 48 in 6 consecutive games, 5 of 25 three-pointers, and average 7.7 points per game. He can also suddenly break out with 28 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in a single game.

The past two games are also very representative. Russell played well against the Knicks. He made 9 of 15 in the game, 4 of 7 three-pointers, and scored 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists. However, in the last game against the Timberwolves, he only made 4 of 11 in the game, scoring only 8 points, 4 assists, and 4 turnovers.

The second is defensive issues. This is Russell's long-standing shortcoming. Regardless of his attitude and ability, he is not very good. So far this season, his defensive DBPM is only -1.5, which is Russell's personal lowest since the 2021-22 season.

The most direct one is the last game against the Knicks. Knicks head coach Mike Brown shouted during a timeout: "We have to defend for several consecutive rounds, stay in position, and continue to look for Russell (offensively)."

The above two issues will definitely be familiar to fans who have experienced Russell's time with the Lakers. In fact, one of the important reasons why the Lakers were eliminated by the Nuggets in the playoffs twice was Russell's instability and poor defense.

For the Mavericks, the good thing is that at least Russell does not earn tens of millions of dollars per year during the Lakers period. During this offseason, they only spent 11.65 million in 2 years to acquire Russell. However, at present, Russell's performance is not fully worthy of his contract, and he is still a player option next season.

Personally, I feel that trading Russell is just a matter of time, just like trading Big Eyebrow. However, the Mavericks will definitely not be able to get much return from this deal, because the contract is not large. Russell will most likely become a balancing chip in transactions such as Gafford, Washington, and Big Eyebrow.

Let’s just talk about Russell. Although he has been in the NBA for ten years, he is actually only 29 years old. He should be in the best stage of a player. However, looking at his current situation, performance in the past few years, and the current market demand for guards, if he does not prove himself well, he may not be able to play anymore. In the future, whether he is in the Mavericks or not, he must continue to work hard.