The Philadelphia 76ers may have another veteran guard to monitor, but that doesn’t mean they should rush into the chase.
D’Angelo Russell, who was just acquired by the Memphis Grizzlies from the Washington Wizards, is expected to be moved again before the start of the 2026-2027 NBA season if everything plays out the way it appears it will. Yahoo Sports NBA insider Kelly Iko reported that Russell is not viewed as a long-term fit in Memphis, and that both sides will explore a buyout or a trade.
That makes him a name worth watching around the league. It also makes him a tricky fit for Philadelphia.
Russell is due $5.9 million for the 2026-2027 season, and that price tag is part of the problem. Teams are unlikely to give up anything meaningful to take on that money for a year, which is why a buyout would likely be the cleaner path.
If that happens, the Sixers would only be able to get involved at the veteran minimum. That’s the only lane they’d have to work with.
On paper, Philadelphia already looks set at guard. And for a second straight year, the team is heading toward the offseason saying it has enough backcourt pieces. That should make the Russell conversation easy to dismiss.
But the Sixers said the same thing last year, and the season quickly exposed how thin that idea really was. Eric Gordon and Jared McCain were cut loose, Kyle Lowry was unplayable, and the team ended up leaning hard on Quentin Grimes, VJ Edgecombe, and Tyrese Maxey. Maxey closed the year leading the NBA in minutes per game at 38.0.
Russell does bring a long résumé. He’s spent 11 seasons in the league, with two separate runs with the Los Angeles Lakers, plus time with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Brooklyn Nets twice, Golden State Warriors, and Dallas Mavericks.
His most recent season with Dallas was rough. In 26 games for the struggling Mavericks, Russell shot 40.5% from the field and 29.5% from three, while averaging 10.2 points and 4.0 assists off the bench.
That background - former All-Star scorer, four seasons of playoff experience - is exactly the kind of thing that can tempt a contending team. But for the Sixers, the better move may be to stay away if he becomes available.
President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey should not be looking to crowd the backcourt when no free-agent guard is going to jump Maxey and Edgecombe in the starting lineup. Anfernee Simons is expected to be a major bench piece, too.
Philadelphia’s best-case scenario is still to hit on its first-round pick for the third straight year and get an immediate contributor in Labaron Philon Jr. He remains a question mark, though, and if he struggles in the offseason, the Sixers may have to revisit the idea of a veteran like Russell.
For now, though, there’s no reason to cut into the learning curve for the former Alabama guard.
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