What’s Next for D’Angelo Russell After Nets Draft Four Guards in 1st Round?

The Brooklyn Nets entered the 2025 NBA Draft with an obvious need at the point guard spot. Brooklyn has plenty of guard talent, but most are either pure scorers (Cam Thomas) or combo guards (Keon Johnson). The Nets needed a pure facilitator, and they managed to secure that and more last night.

GM Sean Marks and Brooklyn's front office drafted four guards: Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Drake Powell and Ben Saraf. Powell is more of a guard/forward who is a three-and-D player who likely won't be the one bringing the ball up the court. However, the other three excel at it.

Plus, Marks ended Danny Wolf's draft night fall, a seven-footer who was the primary ball handler for Michigan last season.

That's four ball-dominant guards headed to Kings County, which may squeeze a fan favorite out of the organization.

D'Angelo Russell, after spending the latter half of the 2024-25 campaign back with the Nets, is headed for unrestricted free agency in four days. Come July 1, he can begin negotiating with outside teams during the "legal tampering period."

Hours before the draft began, Marc Stein of The Stein Line revealed that Russell is expected to be a target for the Dallas Mavericks, attempting to pair the veteran guard with their new core of Cooper Flagg, Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson. Russell would provide relief to Dallas' backcourt, who will be without Kyrie Irving for the entire 2025-26 season.

"Dallas is now regarded as a leading suitor for D'Angelo Russell, sources tell The Stein Line," Stein posted to X on Wednesday. "The Mavs can make a free agent run at Russell because Kyrie Irving's new deal has a lower Year 1 salary than his $43M player option."

It seems the stars are aligning for a second split between Brooklyn and Russell.

The 29-year-old had previously expressed a desire to remain with the Nets and serve as a mentor, but after the franchise continued to draft guards last night, Brooklyn may not feel the same.

Of course, a resolution could always work out for both sides, but as it currently stands, it appears Russell will be moving to a different organization this summer.