Recently, the Washington Wizards shook things up by trading for Dallas Mavericks big man Anthony Davis. A lesser talked-about part of the trade was point guard D'Angelo Russell, who was also sent to the nation's capital in the deal.
However, recent reporting suggests that Russell might not be in DC for long.
“We’ll try to figure out what’s best for him and for the team,” said Wizards general manager Will Dawkins, per ClutchPoints' NBA insider Brett Siegel.
“Russell will not report to Washington and may very well hit the buyout market this upcoming week,” reported Siegel on X, formerly Twitter.
If Russell does indeed hit the buyout market, here are some destinations that could make sense for the guard.
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics have a bit of a need for bench scoring currently after sending out Anfernee Simons at the trade deadline in exchange for Chicago Bulls big man Nikola Vucevic.
Their lack of perimeter shooting off the bench was on full display on Sunday, as the team shot just 17 percent from beyond the arc in a blowout loss to the New York Knicks.
While Russell might not fully solve this problem, he would give Joe Mazzulla another player who can get scalding hot on any given night, and could more or less replicate the production that Simons provided for the first half of this season.
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat have played the vast majority of this season without Tyler Herro, and after the team remained dormant at the NBA trade deadline, Pat Riley would do well to look to add more offensive firepower on the buyout market.
Russell has some well-documented flaws and might not necessarily be a great fit for Erik Spoelstra's defense-first style of play, but for a Heat team that doesn't have a lot of perimeter shot creation outside of Norman Powell, taking a chance on Russell might be a risk worth taking.
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets have been on the struggle bus in recent weeks, finally getting back on track with a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday afternoon.
Reed Sheppard has hit a major sophomore slump over the last month, and Russell's veteran experience might be just what the team needs to help reignite the offense and give them some microwave scoring off the bench, especially on nights when Sheppard's shot isn't falling.
