D'Angelo Russell Lands Contract in Chinese Basketball Association After Grizzlies Release

D'Angelo Russell is headed to China after his release from the Memphis Grizzlies.

Russell is joining the Shangai Sharks ahead of the Chinese Basketball Association's upcoming season, the league announced Wednesday.

The Washington Wizards traded Russell to the Grizzlies in July before the team waived him last week.

He had played 11 NBA seasons prior to being cut, most recently appearing in 26 games of the 2025-26 campaign for the Dallas Mavericks.

Initially selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the No. 2 pick of the 2015 draft out of Ohio State, Russell later earned his first All-Star nod in 2019 with the Brooklyn Nets.

He has bounced around since that campaign in a series of trades that sent him to the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves. He returned to the Lakers and Nets before beginning last season with the Mavericks.

Russell most recently averaged 10.2 points and four assists per game while mostly coming off the bench for the Mavericks before falling out of Jason Kidd's rotation ahead of his inclusion in the Anthony Davis trade last February.

The 30-year-old did not play for the Wizards before he was dealt this summer to the Grizzlies, who made him a free agent by waiving him last week.

Russell will depart the NBA having averaged 17 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists. He registered career shooting averages of 42.7 percent from the field and 36.3 percent from deep through 655 games.

The Sharks won the 2025-26 CBA championship in June to claim the team's first title since winning with Yao Ming 24 years ago.

The team's current roster features another former NBA player in Brandon Goodwin, who played four NBA seasons between 2018 and 2022. Former NBA center Hassan Whiteside won the championship with the club but is facing a potential ban from the league.

Other notable NBA players who played with the Sharks include Gilbert Arenas, Michael Beasley, Eric Bledsoe and Delonte West.