Ahead of his first season with the Dallas Mavericks, veteran D'Angelo Russell reflected on his previous stops with the Brooklyn Nets and the Los Angeles Lakers. Russell was reportedly the Mavericks' preferred replacement option for Kyrie Irving, who tore his left ACL, which required season-ending surgery last season. Stepping into a new chapter in his NBA career, D'Angelo looked back on his past.
Russell discussed the contrast between his last two stops in an interview with Wy Network with Dwyane Wade.
“The organization in Brooklyn is different. It's unlike any other. The performance team, coach, everything about Brooklyn is different than you would expect, and I've been around the league, where I came from the Lakers, where the structure is not the same, and then I go to Brooklyn, where it’s all structure, and it taught me how to be a professional. I always approached the game to where I was just kind of nonchalant, and I felt like I could just wing it.”
During his time with the Nets, things were drastically different, which Russell says prolonged his career.
“When I got to Brooklyn, it taught me how to be a professional, how to sleep, how to eat, how to recover, and that's why I'm still playing to this day, honestly,” Russell added. “I'm not a guy that's athletic. I'm a guy that had to take care of my body. I had to recover. I had to eat the best way. I couldn't just show up, and that's what Brooklyn really taught me. And I've been enjoying it ever since.”
In his first season with the Nets, Russell made his first and only All-Star appearance in 2019. He averaged 21.1 points on 43.4% shooting, 7.0 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. The 10-year veteran returned to the Lakers in 2022 and to the Nets last season. Russell agreed to a two-year deal, worth $13 million, with the Mavericks via free agency.
Why the Mavericks wanted D'Angelo Russell over Chris Paul
With free agent veterans D'Angelo Russell and Chris Paul on the market this summer, many wondered if the Mavericks would make a run at Paul over Russell. However, that turned out not to be the case, per NBA insider Marc Stein.
“Dallas had D'Angelo Russell higher on its free agent wish list than Paul, for two reasons,” Stein reported. “There is a belief in Dallas that Russell, in addition to leading the Mavericks’ efforts to cope without the injured Kyrie Irving, will find it easier to carve out a supplementary role when Irving is back playing after rehabbing from his ACL tear.”
Russell will be the Mavericks' starting point guard until Irving returns.
