37 million becomes 11.6 million! Russell is reduced to join! Another strong team in the West is born

On July 7, the Mavericks officially announced that the team officially signed Russell and completed a contract renewal with Irving, and Russell will wear the No. 5 jersey. Shams previously revealed that Russell's contract was $13 million for two years. Today, NBA reporter Brett Siegel corrected that Russell's contract is $11.6 million for two years.

Russell's annual salary next season is only $5.7 million, and the Mavericks signed it with a mini-middle special case. The contract is a player option worth $5.9 million in the second year. Irving gave up the $43 million player option next season and signed a new three-year, $119 million contract with the Mavericks, with an annual salary of $36.7 million next season, and a salary cut of 6.3 million!

Media ClutchPoints summarized an interesting rule: Russell and Irving both played for the Nets before joining the Mavericks. The same is true for Mavericks coach Kidd when he was a player. In fact, it is not only the three of them, Carter, Jefferson, Dinwiddie, Deron Williams, Yogi Ferrer and others, all have the same experience.

Russell was born on February 23, 1996, in the 2015 NBA Draft, Russell was selected by the Lakers with the second pick in the first round. In the summer of 2023, Russell renewed his contract with the Lakers for 2 years with a total of $37 million. On December 30, 2024, the Lakers sent Russell + Lewis + three second round picks to the Nets in exchange for Finney Smith + Milton. In the 2024-25 season, Russell played 29 games with the Nets, including 26 starts. He averaged 24.7 minutes per game, scored 12.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.7 blocks and 2 turnovers, with three shooting percentages: 36.7%, 29.7%, and 82.6%. Both shooting and three-point shooting percentages were the lowest in his career, so he decided to cut his salary to join the Mavericks. In the 2024-25 season, Irving played 50 regular season games for the Mavericks. He averaged 36 minutes per game, scored 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.5 blocks and 2.2 turnovers, with three shooting percentages: 47.3%, 40.1%, 91.6%. On March 4 this year, Irving suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee. Russell will start early next season.

Now the Mavericks have gathered 3 No. 1 picks + 1 No. 1 pick. How far do you think they can go next season?