Mavericks Signing D’Angelo Russell Using Taxpayer MLE

NBA, D'Angelo Russell, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers
D’Angelo Russell of the Nets is headed to the Mavericks in free agency. (Getty)

The Dallas Mavericks are adding veteran guard D’Angelo Russell on a two-year contract, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The second year will be a player option.

Russell’s deal will come in just under $12 million total and will be signed using the taxpayer mid-level exception. That move hard-caps Dallas at the second tax apron — a line the team is now just $1.6 million below, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

A one-time All-Star, Russell is taking a significant pay cut after earning $18.7 million last season. He’ll make about $11.65 million over two years with the Mavericks.

The 29-year-old is coming off a disappointing 2024–25 campaign split between the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets. He averaged career lows in points (12.6) and minutes (25.5), along with a personal-worst 39 percent shooting from the field and just 31.4 percent from beyond the arc.

Despite the struggles, Russell brings scoring punch and playmaking ability, and could play a key role early in the season. With Kyrie Irving recovering from a torn ACL sustained in March, Russell is expected to open the year as the Mavericks’ starting point guard.

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