Mavericks Signing D’Angelo Russell Using Taxpayer MLE

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.