As the transactional aspect of the offseason starts to unwind for the Dallas Mavericks, all eyes will be on Cooper Flagg's Summer League debut versus the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday. How much Flagg will be able to operate as a secondary ball handler in the lineup with Kyrie Irving projected to miss a good chunk of the season next year will be instrumental in Dallas' playoff seeding, but so will the performance of recently signed stopgap guard D'Angelo Russell.
Russell's play next season was already a huge factor in Dallas being able to hold down the fort till Irving returns, but a recent comment from Irving would suggest Russell's role could be more important than ever for the Mavericks, as Irving isn't going to rush his ACL rehab by any means.
"Don’t hold your breath on that…I just want to be back 150,000% better," Irving said in response to a comment on his recent stream asking if he'd be back by the NBA Playoffs next season.
Russell needs to prepare for a long run as Dallas' starter with Irving out
While the large consensus between fans and national media was that Irving would return sometime between January and February, he clearly isn't rushing his rehab to return within the typical 9-12 months that ACL tears usually take to recover from for NBA players. This isn't to say Irving couldn't come back in that timeframe still, but it's clear the 33-year-old guard doesn't want to come back preemptively and increase his chance of re-injury, as this is a delicate process given Irving is a high-usage guard on the wrong side of 30.
This is undoubtedly the smartest move Irving could make to get back to his highest level possible ahead of a potential playoff run for the Mavericks, but it also puts increased pressure on Russell to facilitate and shot-create as well as he can until Irving comes back, as Russell may need to be Dallas' starting point guard for nearly the entire season if Irving's recent injury update is a connotation he may return later than initially expected.
If Russell is as efficient as he was two or three seasons ago, his play along with Brandon Williams' may be able to compensate for 75-80 percent of Irving's production, which could be just enough for the Mavericks to be a top-six seed in the West by the time Irving returns next season. If Russell plays similarly to how he did last season for the Brooklyn Nets and Lakers, though, the Mavericks may not have enough shot creation to be a bonafide playoff team/contender by the time Irving gets back, as Russell was extremely inefficient last season offensively and is already not a plus-defender.
Of course, the Mavericks could always make a midseason trade to acquire another lead ball handler in the lineup, but with Irving taking less money in the first year of his new deal for Dallas to access the Taxpayer's MLE and be able to sign Russell, Dallas is clearly banking on Russell to have a great season for them, and he should be contractually motivated to do so given he signed a one-plus-one deal this summer.
Russell is on the best roster he's been on in quite some time and is surrounded by enough solid wing and interior defense to theoretically not be a glaring hole defensively, but he has to be a more dynamic three-level scorer and playmaker next season if the Mavericks are to sniff contention or avoid the Play-In tournament, as Irving could be out for much longer than expected given this recent update and the Western Conference is as tough as ever.
