Former Los Angeles Lakers star D’Angelo Russell is on the move again after being waived by the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.
“The Memphis Grizzlies have waived D’Angelo Russell, sources tell ESPN,” NBA insider Shams Charania reported on X, formerly Twitter. “With Memphis needing to trim its roster, this frees Russell up to potentially land somewhere before the start of the season,” Charania reported.
Russell, 30, has been traded six times in his career since the Lakers selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. Russell returned to the Lakers in 2023 in a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves ahead of the midseason deadline. L.A. traded Russell back to the Brooklyn Nets in 2024. Since then, he has bounced around the league, making stops with multiple teams.
What’s Next for the Former Lakers Guard?
Russell, an All-Star with the Brooklyn Nets in 2019, has hit the open market and, according to NBA insider Brett Siegel, is looking to join a contending team.
“It shouldn’t shock anyone that the Grizzlies waived D’Angelo Russell,” Siegel wrote in an X post, “who was destined to hit waivers since the moment he was traded to Memphis this offseason. Russell, sources said, wants to join a playoff-contending team.”
While it appears extremely unlikely that the Lakers will bring Russell back for a third stint, perhaps the Miami Heat, which is said to be interested in adding a veteran guard, might give him an opportunity, writes team insider Ira Winderman.
“With roster and cap flexibility, (it’s) hard to see why D’Angelo Russell wouldn’t be worth a shot by the Heat,” Winderman expressed on X. “With the Nick Richards and Myron Gardner contracts, there still would be the ability down the road to add a buyout veteran.”
With 14 players on the roster, the Heat has room for one more player. Could that move the franchise to target Russell? The Heat has addressed multiple roster concerns this offseason — the team added some dude by the name of Giannis; we heard he’s pretty good at basketball — from frontcourt depth to 3-point shooting. Miami could surely use someone to help Davion Mitchell, the team’s starting point guard.
What Lies Ahead for Russell
Most fans would agree Russell never quite reached his sky-high potential coming out of college. Although his career is far from over, Russell, at this point, figures to be a backup and, with all due respect, a minimum-salary player for the rest of his career.
As ClutchPoints’ Julian Ojeda noted, Russell is eyeing a new opportunity after being involved in one of the biggest trades of the offseason.
“Russell now gets the opportunity to find a new team after spending the 2025-26 season with the Mavericks,” Ojeda penned. “He appeared in 26 games, including three starts, and averaged 10.2 points, 4.0 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 19 minutes per game. He shot 40.5% from the field and a career-low 29.5% from 3-point range. His move to Memphis came as part of one of the offseason’s largest transactions. The Grizzlies acquired Russell from Washington along with Isaiah Stewart from Detroit and AJ Johnson from Dallas. Memphis also received a top-20 protected 2030 first-round pick, multiple future second-round picks and a future second-round pick swap.”
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