The Dallas Mavericks have changed the complexion of their future thanks to the arrival of Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick in Wednesday's NBA Draft, but there's still a distinct hole in their roster that could see them turn to a former Golden State Warriors guard.
After signing Kyrie Irving to a three-year, $119 million contract on Tuesday, the Mavericks will now have to find a replacement in free agency as the star guard recovers from a devastating torn ACL injury suffered in early March.
The Mavericks are leading suitors for former Warrior D'Angelo Russell
Dallas was initially viewed as a potential next destination for veteran guard Chris Paul, yet it may actually be D'Angelo Russell who is the former Warrior on their radar. According to NBA insider Marc Stein on Wednesday, the Mavericks are regarded as a leading suitor for the 29-year-old.
Russell has been a productive NBA player across the course of his career, but his ability to impact winning consistently has always been a question mark and led to his involvement in five separate trades since being drafted second overall in 2015.
More on this topic: Dallas is now regarded as a leading suitor for D'Angelo Russell, sources tell @TheSteinLine.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 25, 2025
The Mavs can make a free agent run at Russell because Kyrie Irving's new deal has a lower Year 1 salary than his $43M player option.
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Golden State, of course, were involved in two of those trades within an eight-month period. They initially acquired the 6'3" guard in the Kevin Durant sign-and-trade with the Brooklyn Nets in 2019, before making a franchise-altering deal that sent Russell to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Andrew Wiggins and what resulted as the pick the Warriors used on Jonathan Kuminga.
Golden State quickly realized that Russell wasn't a fit for their franchise, and so have the Timberwolves and Lakers in the years since. Russell finished the season at the Brooklyn Nets for a second time, averaging 12.9 points and 5.6 assists on a paltry 36.7% from the floor and 29.7% from 3-point range.
This news will provide some laughs for Warrior fans who know all too well about how the Russell experience can be a nightmare. For a team who should be balancing their offense around Anthony Davis and the development of Flagg, the threat of Russell hijacking those aspirations with questionable shot selection and inefficient numbers could become very problematic.
It's not difficult to see why Dallas may have interest with the taxpayer mid-level exception given Russell is a notable name who puts up numbers, but they'd be far better finding a pass-first point guard who can elevate Davis, Klay Thompson and youngsters like Flagg and Dereck Lively II.
Davis and Russell played 139 games together with the Lakers, but the latter never shared the floor with Thompson who was out injured when the two were on the same Golden State roster. If Russell does go to Dallas though and things go pear-shaped, Warrior fans will be the first to say "I told you so."