The Dallas Mavericks announced Thursday that guard Dante Exum, “has continued to deal with complications” , stemming from an offseason surgery on his right knee. Those complications now necessitate a second
surgery, which will force him to miss the remainder of the season. Exum was signed this offseason to a new $3.3-million deal. He was never cleared for practice in training camp and never appeared in a game.
The 30 year old guard, who has battled injury his entire career, was entering his third season in Dallas. He played in 55 games in the 2023-24 season that took the team all the way to the NBA Finals, with Exum serving as a reserve ball-handler and defender off the bench. He appeared in just 20 games last season.
In order to sign Exum in August, former general manager Nico Harrison had to waive-and-stretch the salary of Olivier-Maxence Prosper, who will remain on the books for the next three years. The Mavericks also made cuts, such as training camp invite and former fan favorite Dennis Smith Jr., ahead of the regular season in order to keep Exum on the roster.
As if all of that isn’t enough, ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out that because the team is hard-capped they can’t just replace Exum: “Dallas is already with 15 players and would need to waive Exum to create a roster spot. However, because they are hard capped at the 2nd apron, Dallas is not allowed to sign a player until Jan. 6.”
Priorities this season are focused on the development of Cooper Flagg, but even the periphery of this roster needs strong attention from interim co-general managers Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi, who took over from Harrison after his dismissal earlier this month. But if there were any lingering questions about the ineptitude of Harrison’s leadership and strategy, we’ve been given yet another fresh reminder.
All the best to Exum in his recovery. It is a shame to see another setback for the Australian guard who appeared in 75 regular season games over his two-plus seasons, averaging eight points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists, but contributed to some bright moments in Mavericks history.
