After being waived last week by the Grizzlies, veteran point guard D’Angelo Russell is reportedly headed overseas to continue his playing career.

Russell has signed with the Shanghai Sharks, according to a social media post from the Chinese Basketball Association (Instagram link). Chinese basketball journalist Zhang Duo (Twitter link) initially reported that D-Lo had a deal in place with the Sharks.

Russell, the second overall pick in the 2015 draft, holds career averages of 17.0 points and 5.6 assists per game across 655 NBA regular season outings for five teams and was named an All-Star in 2019, but his production has declined sharply in recent years.

After averaging 12.6 PPG on .390/.314/.834 shooting in 58 games for the Lakers and Nets in 2024/25, Russell signed with Dallas last summer in the hopes of replacing Kyrie Irving as the team’s starting point guard while Irving recovered from an Achilles tear. However, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd began the season by experimenting with Cooper Flagg at the point guard spot and ultimately preferred to deploy Brandon Williams and Ryan Nembhard over Russell, who averaged 10.2 PPG on .405/.295/.717 shooting in 26 appearances (three starts).

The Mavericks traded Russell to the Wizards at the 2026 trade deadline in the Anthony Davis blockbuster, but he wasn’t required to report to his new team during the second half of the season. After he exercised his player option in June, the 30-year-old guard was dealt to Memphis in July as part of the six-team trade that involved Isaiah Stewart, Santi Aldama, John Collins, and Khris Middleton, among others.

In the wake of Russell’s release last week, reporting indicated that he hoped to join a playoff contender, but there likely wasn’t significant league-wide interest in the veteran. He figures to play a major role in the CBA for Shanghai after seeing his NBA playing time fall off over the past couple seasons.