Grizzlies waive D’Angelo Russell, who hopes to land with contender

The Grizzlies have waived veteran point guard D’Angelo Russell, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.

Russell is expected to clear waivers before most NBA teams begin training camp next week. He hopes to land with a playoff contender, Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reported.

Memphis entered Friday with 19 players on standard contracts, so something had to give. Russell always appeared likely to be among those squeezed out.

His stay with the Grizzlies was brief and mostly transactional. Memphis acquired Russell in July as part of a six-team trade after questions had already surfaced about his future with the organization.

The former No. 2 overall pick and 2019 All-Star is coming off the least productive season of his career.

Russell signed a two-year, $11.7 million contract with the Mavericks in 2025 and was initially viewed as a possible replacement for the injured Kyrie Irving. Instead, he opened the season as a reserve and eventually fell out of the rotation.

Russell appeared in just 26 games for Dallas, including three starts, and averaged a career-low 10.2 points. He shot 40.5 percent from the field and 29.5 percent on 3-pointers.

The Mavericks sent him to the Wizards as part of the Anthony Davis trade in February, but Washington did not require him to report. Russell exercised his player option in June before being rerouted to Memphis the following month. Now he is back on the market at age 30.

Russell has plenty of experience and can still handle the ball and generate offense. But after two straight seasons of declining production and poor shooting, he may have to accept a limited role to join the type of contender he reportedly wants.