{"id":179228,"date":"2026-02-27T17:59:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T22:59:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=179228"},"modified":"2026-02-27T17:59:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T22:59:23","slug":"washington-wizards-may-be-dangelo-russell-last-shot-in-the-nba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/02\/27\/washington-wizards-may-be-dangelo-russell-last-shot-in-the-nba\/","title":{"rendered":"Wizards May Be Failing Guards’ Last Shot In The NBA"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dallas Mavericks and Washington Wizards completed the biggest blockbuster trade<\/a> this season right before the deadline in early February. With that, Washington gained the 10-time NBA All-Star Anthony Davis<\/a>, among others, while Dallas received several expiring contracts and draft capital. Among those assets sent to D.C, the Washington Wizards gained another former All-Star in D’Angelo Russell<\/a>. Originally, Washington’s front office told him to stay home<\/a>, meaning he would not play a single minute in a Wizards jersey. Flash forward just a few weeks, and Washington may be the guard’s last shot to compete on the NBA hardwood.<\/p>\n

Wizards May Be Failing Guards’ Last Shot In NBA<\/h2>\n

According to Brett Siegel<\/a>, not one of the other 29 teams in the NBA is remotely interested in adding Russell to their roster. With the guard’s falling production and semi-drama after the trade, front offices seem cautious to approach the one-time All-Star. Out of options, Russell seems to be joining Washington for the remainder of the season, hoping to prove he still has plenty of value.<\/p>\n

Just a few seasons ago, Russell was one of the most attractive guard assets in the league. Averaging 18 points per game for the Los Angeles Lakers, he at times seemed to be returning to his prime years when he was with the Brooklyn Nets from 2017 to 2019. Now in the present, Russell’s 2025-26 season could signal the beginning of his slow exit from the NBA.<\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Russell’s Decline<\/h3>\n

Russell’s decline has happened relatively swiftly. From that impressive campaign with the Lakers, it’s been basically all downhill since. This season, Russell is averaging career lows in points, rebounds, and three-point percentage, while also posting near-lows in multiple categories.<\/p>\n

The 2015 second overall pick was once a consistent riser looking to take over the league. Now, he was told by a rebuilding franchise’s front office not to even worry about reporting to the team. What happened? It’s hard to ignore the massive dumpster fire Dallas has become after trading away Luka Doncic<\/a>. Unfortunately, Russell’s decline in production can be blamed partly on that. His decline in minutes and shots is a byproduct of the team struggling to find its new identity.<\/p>\n

The team turned to rookie sensation Cooper Flagg<\/a> and designated him as their next golden child. With that, Russell’s production suffered further. Can Washington perform yet another miracle and revive the falling guard’s career? Or, will he be doomed to continue his fall from grace?<\/p>\n

Newfound Opportunity<\/h3>\n
\"Oct
Oct 26, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard D’Angelo Russell (5) makes a jump shot over Toronto Raptors guard Jamal Shead (23) during the second half at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even in the face of a career-ending season, Russell’s new opportunity could revive his career. Washington has an exceptional track record for flipping players’ careers around. Jordan Poole<\/a> and Kyle Kuzma<\/a> are the latest examples of this<\/a>. Poole was sent to New Orleans for CJ McCollum<\/a> following his best season in the NBA, while Kuzma had two fringe all-star campaigns in three and a half seasons before being sent out to Milwaukee. Both trades indirectly led to acquiring Davis and four-time NBA All-Star Trae Young<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The opportunity that Russell has walked into could be what saves his career. To capitalize on any potential return, Russell will no doubt receive ample offensive looks. Bub Carrington<\/a> will continue to be in the starting role, but Russell no doubt will receive great minutes with the team trying to hold onto their lottery pick. The one-time All-Star could join a bench that is looking for a primary option. Will Riley<\/a> has carried the second unit<\/a> in February, but adding Russell will give the whole reserve rotation a real boost.<\/p>\n

The Last Word<\/h3>\n

Can Washington save Russell? There’s a real chance. With the recent flips the franchise has pulled off, Russell could remind teams of what he can provide to any unit looking for offensive production off the bench. He may not be capable of leading a team to contention, but make no mistake, the 10-year veteran can still hoop at an elite level.<\/p>\n

Featured Image: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Dallas Mavericks and Washington Wizards completed the biggest blockbuster trade this season right before the deadline in early February. With that, Washington gained the 10-time NBA All-Star Anthony Davis, among others, while Dallas received several expiring contracts and draft capital. Among those assets sent to D.C, the Washington Wizards gained another former All-Star in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5480,"featured_media":179267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,62,18],"tags":[307,1909,1128],"class_list":["post-179228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nba","category-wizards","tag-dangelo-russell","tag-jordan-poole","tag-kyle-kuzma"],"modified_by":"Benjamin Yu","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5480"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179228"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":179270,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179228\/revisions\/179270"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}