D’Angelo Russell is currently in Memphis … but perhaps not for long.
The Memphis Grizzlies are expected to work towards parting ways with Russell, Kelly Iko of Yahoo! Sports reported on Wednesday. Iko adds that the two sides will work together towards either a buyout or a trade of Russell.
A former NBA All-Star in 2019, Russell was acquired by the Grizzlies from the Washington Wizards earlier this month as part of a complex six-team trade. He averaged an unimpressive 10.0 points and 4.2 assists per game last season for the Dallas Mavericks and was then sent packing as part of the Anthony Davis trade with the Wizards (whom Russell never actually ended up reporting for).
Now it appears that the Grizzlies will be the second consecutive team that Russell never ultimately plays in a game for. Russell is only owed $6 million next season, so it may be easy for him to come to a buyout agreement with Memphis if no trade should materialize.
The ex-No. 2 overall draft pick Russell never really made sense for the Grizzlies in the first place as anything more than salary fodder. Memphis went 25-57 last season and are now embarking on a dedicated rebuild, meaning that Russell (at 30 years old) has virtually no utility for them.
Upon the news of his trade to the Grizzlies, Russell received plenty of savage memes online. Now the goal for Russell is to make sure that those memes do not follow him to his impending next destination.
