The Memphis Grizzlies waived veteran guard D’Angelo Russell on Friday ahead of training camp, clearing roster space while remaining responsible for his expiring $5.97MM salary. Russell landed in Memphis during a July six-team trade after falling out of the rotation with the Dallas Mavericks.
The Memphis Grizzlies officially released guard D’Angelo Russell on Friday ahead of training camp, cutting ties with the former All-Star before he ever played a regular-season game for the franchise. Shams Charania of ESPN first reported the move regarding the veteran point guard, while the organization formally confirmed the transaction in a press release.
Russell arrived in Memphis in July as part of a massive six-team trade that included Washington, Dallas, Isaiah Stewart, Santi Aldama, John Collins, and Khris Middleton, among others. Originally selected second overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2015 NBA Draft, the 30-year-old guard has bounced across five different teams over 11 professional seasons, appearing in 655 games while averaging 17.0 points, 5.6 assists, and 3.3 rebounds. He earned an All-Star nod with the Brooklyn Nets in 2019.
Grizzlies release former All-Star D'Angelo Russell
Roster Crunch and Financial Obligations in Memphis
Memphis faced an intense roster crunch heading into the weekend, carrying 19 players on standard contracts into the day on Friday. Cutting Russell now allows the veteran guard to clear waivers before most teams begin training camp next week, giving him an opportunity to land with a playoff contender, according to sources telling Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints.
Despite parting ways with the guard, the franchise remains on the hook for his fully guaranteed, expiring $5.97MM salary. The team still has a few more moves to make before opening night in order to set its 15-man roster for the regular season, as they remain carrying 17 players on guaranteed contracts, plus Jaylen Wells on a partially guaranteed deal.
Grizzlies Waive D'Angelo Russell
A Steep Statistical Decline Following Dallas and Washington Stints
Russell’s departure follows a tumultuous stretch that saw his playing time and production drop off significantly. After signing a two-year, $11.7MM contract with Dallas ahead of the 2025/26 season—where he was expected to fill in for Kyrie Irving as the team’s starting point guard—he came off the bench to open the season and then fell out of the rotation altogether. His time with the Mavericks totaled just 26 games played, featuring three starts alongside 4.0 assists and a career-low scoring average of 10.2 points per contest while shooting .405 from the field, .295 from deep, and .717 at the free throw line.
That difficult stretch represented the second straight year in which he posted shooting numbers well below his career rates. Across 58 total appearances that season for the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers in 2024/25, he managed to convert just 39.0% of his field goals and 31.4% of his three-pointers. Dallas subsequently shipped him to the Washington Wizards at the 2026 trade deadline in the Anthony Davis blockbuster, though he wasn’t required to report to his new team during the second half of the season while anticipating a contract buyout.
The Source |Grizzlies Waive D’Angelo Russell Sending Veteran Guard
Rookie Brendan Hausen Steps Into the G League Pipeline
To fill the open spot left by Russell’s departure, Memphis added Brendan Hausen after the rookie went undrafted out of Iowa in June. Hausen, a 22-year-old Amarillo, Texas native, played four college seasons with Villanova, Kansas State, and Iowa, starting 33 of 120 total college games. His strongest collegiate output came during the 2024-25 campaign at Kansas State, where he started 33 games, averaged 10.9 points and 2.5 rebounds, and shot 38.8% from three-point range. He also made 21 appearances without a start for Iowa last season, averaging 4.0 points.
By signing an Exhibit 10 contract, the first-year guard established his G League rights and put himself in position to earn a financial bonus contingent upon logging a minimum of 60 days with the Memphis Hustle during the upcoming autumn months.
