The Dallas Mavericks are off to a poor start to the season, and the team dynamics are reportedly not very good, either.
A new report from Ashish Mathur of Dallas Hoops Journal claimed that guard D’Angelo Russell has already alienated his teammates. According to Mathur, Russell’s “approach at practice” and “lackadaisical effort on defense” have rubbed teammates the wrong way.
D’Angelo Russell has reportedly rubbed several teammates the wrong way with his approach in practice and lackadaisical effort on defense, per @DALHoopsJournal pic.twitter.com/U8mSGd8uda
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 20, 2025
Russell only just joined the Mavericks on a 2-year, $13 million contract, so this is a little bit concerning. That said, he was brought in by former GM Nico Harrison, who was fired earlier this month.
The Mavericks have mostly used Russell off the bench this season, where he has averaged 12.6 points and 5.0 assists per game. He has never been regarded as an elite defender, and that has shown at times this season.
Russell’s uninspiring contributions certainly offer some context for why the Mavericks used rookie Cooper Flagg as a point guard to start the season instead of letting Russell take the reins. That experiment did not work out, but it is telling that Dallas still does not trust Russell to run the starting offense.
