Russell Out, Hausen In: Memphis Keeps Spinning Its Guard Carousel

The Grizzlies waived D'Angelo Russell on Thursday, two months after acquiring him from Washington, and replaced him with undrafted guard Brendan Hausen. That's the transaction. It's a small line item on its own, but it's the third significant guard-position reversal Memphis has absorbed this offseason, and training camp is right around the corner.

The sequence is worth noting. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope exercised his player option in June, then agreed to a buyout and left for Philadelphia in July. The front office brought in Russell to help stabilize the position. Now Russell is gone too, and the backcourt rebuild that was supposed to be settled after the Jordan Hawkins trade in early September has another open question attached to it. Cam Spencer is the most reliable returning guard on the roster — he handled the ball and made shots all season — but the veteran presence behind him keeps changing.

Memphis is heading into a rebuild year with Jaren Jackson Jr. as the clear anchor and a young supporting cast still sorting itself out. That's manageable. What's harder to manage is a guard room that has turned over this many times before a single preseason game has been played. Hausen is an unknown quantity. Hawkins is promising but unproven at this level. The front office will need the pieces it has now to actually stick.