D'Angelo Russell is heading to Memphis in a six-team trade, but after a career-low season in Dallas, it's unclear how much he'll actually play for the Grizzlies.
The Memphis Grizzlies have made a lot of changes this summer. Some of them have been foundational. Cameron Boozer in. Ja Morant out. These are franchise-shaping choices.
Others have been more marginal. Isaiah Stewart was a nice addition, and Santi Aldama will be missed. Still, some changes have been so marginal that fans might not even notice them.
Their most recent acquisition, D'Angelo Russell, falls into that category.
Grizzlies Bring In Veteran Floor General
Russell is a big name, but he hasn't been a big-name producer in years.
Last season, he averaged 10.2 points and 4.0 assists per game in 26 contests with the Dallas Mavericks. An injury kept him off the floor after that point.
That said, his 29.5% three-point shooting could have kept him out of any rotation on its own. That's a problematic percentage, and it's not much better than the year before, when Russell hit 29.7% of his threes for the Brooklyn Nets.
Russell has never been an elite three-point shooter. His appeal has mostly been in his gift for ball-handling. He's a pick-and-roll maestro, but if he can't space the floor for Cameron Boozer, it's hard to say how often he'll see the court in Memphis. Whether he even cracks the rotation is an open question.
Grizzlies Need to Focus on Youth Movement
Frankly, it's hard to say.
Boozer won't play 48 minutes a game, and there will be times when the Grizzlies need someone else to run the offense. So even if Russell proves a poor pairing with their new star, there will be opportunities, at least in theory.
In practice, Memphis has many young, unproven guards. Finding out what Scotty Pippen Jr., Javon Small, and Walter Clayton Jr. have to offer might take precedence over letting Russell orchestrate the team's attack.
Ultimately, it's likely to come down to how Memphis views this season. If the front office isn't concerned with chasing wins, Russell may not see much of an opportunity to play. If the Grizzlies find themselves flirting with play-in territory, it could make more sense to let him run the offense for short bursts with the second unit.
Either way, there's some logic in acquiring him. Russell has seen every conceivable NBA situation. He's been on 5 teams, some twice, in 11 years of NBA service, and he's always relied on feel and skill over athleticism. This could be a perfect veteran presence for the Grizzlies' young guards, even if it's far from the most consequential decision Memphis made this summer.
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