D’Angelo Russell is still a thing in 2026.
The former NBA All-Star guard Russell was traded on Tuesday by the Washington Wizards as part of a complex six-team deal. Russell is heading from Washington to the Memphis Grizzlies along with a future second-round pick and a future pick swap, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.
In response to the news, fans all made the same joke on social media. They joked that Russell would be serving as the replacement to Ja Morant in Memphis (and an ostensibly poor one at that).
Grizzlies going from Ja to D’Lo pic.twitter.com/ne4nrpkYB1
— BGB (@BonesGotBizzy) July 8, 2026
DLo pretending to be Ja Morant in Memphis https://t.co/XKGYzgGHce
— Onyx (@OnyxOdds) July 8, 2026
Dlo as your Ja replacement??? https://t.co/W9S8SGqKhK pic.twitter.com/4phXiIacRR
— Logan (@AxisWRLD) July 8, 2026
If Memphis is actually planning on replacing Ja with D'Angelo Russell… oof, I feel bad for you Grizzles fans 😬😂 https://t.co/qfGVhWXFOZ
— Robert (@roblo87) July 8, 2026
Russell, still only 30 years old, was acquired by Washington last February as part of the Anthony Davis trade with the Dallas Mavericks. He never played in a game for the rebuilding Wizards though and never even reported to the team before finally getting sent off to Memphis this week.
As for the Grizzlies, they traded away their former franchise centerpiece Morant to the Portland Trail Blazers last month. With Russell only averaging 10.2 points per game on miserable 41/30/72 shooting splits for the Mavericks last season, there is not a lot to get excited about there for Memphis fans.
Of course, Russell (who is on a cheap $6 million expiring deal) might be little more than contract fodder for the Grizzlies. Considering that Russell was also a source of frustration among some of his former teammates, it is possible that he never actually plays in a game for Memphis either.
