The Memphis Grizzlies are acquiring D'Angelo Russell in a six-team trade, according to, adding a former 2019 All-Star guard to a roster that already has a crowded point guard room.
The move also fits a larger pattern for Memphis, which has been focused on stockpiling assets and future draft capital. That approach has been visible in a series of recent moves, and this trade adds another layer to the team’s long-term planning even as it creates more questions about how the backcourt will be sorted out in the short term.
What Russell brings
Russell is coming off an uneven season with the Dallas Mavericks, where he played 26 games and averaged 10.2 points and four assists. He has an 11-year career and was named an All-Star with the Brooklyn Nets in 2019, so the résumé is there, even if the recent production has been more modest than peak years.
For Memphis, the appeal is not only Russell’s name value. The Grizzlies are adding another experienced guard while continuing to collect future assets, including a future second-round pick and a future second-round pick swap in the broader deal, according to the reported framework.
How it affects Memphis
The fit is complicated because Memphis already has a crowded point guard position. After the draft, Zach Kleiman said he wanted the young group of point guards to get more of an opportunity, which makes the Russell addition interesting from a roster-building standpoint.
The Grizzlies are also dealing with a deeper roster picture overall. NBA teams are allowed to carry up to 21 players under contract ahead of the 2026-27 season, and Memphis has 17 players, 18 standard contracts and three two-way deals in play. That leaves room for more movement, but it also means the team is navigating a roster that could keep changing as it sorts out rotations and contract decisions.
Memphis also already gained a $28.9 million traded player exception from the Feb. 3 trade that sent Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Utah Jazz, another sign that the team has been active in managing flexibility. In that sense, the Russell move looks less like a one-off gamble and more like another piece in a broader asset accumulation strategy.
For now, the key question is how much of a role Russell will have and how Memphis plans to balance its experienced additions with its younger guards. The trade gives the Grizzlies another proven name, but it also adds to the logjam they will have to untangle before the season starts.
