Mavericks will need to rely on depth with key reserve sidelined

Dante Exum had a breakthrough year coming off the bench for the Dallas Mavericks during the 2023-24 season, but as the new campaign approaches, his team will have to wait until at least the New Year for him to come back from wrist surgery.

Exum underwent wrist surgery this week after suffering a training-camp injury. Now, the Mavericks will have to find a different option than Exum as their first guard off the bench and Exum will have to once again fight back from an injury.

After seeing the court 82 games in his rookie season, Exum tore his ACL while playing for his native Australia during the summer. That cost him a full season. Then, in a preseason game, Exum separated his shoulder, returned for the end of the season, then injured his ankle.

He would eventually head to Europe, where he enjoyed better health and won a title with Patrizan Belgrade in 2022-23. That led to his signing with Dallas for the 2023-24 season, where he played nearly 20 minutes per game off the bench, shooting 53.3% from the field and 49.1% from three-point range (both career bests) while boasting an excellent assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.2.

Exum's injury makes the Mavericks' summer acquisitions of Quentin Grimes and Spencer Dinwiddie that much more important. Grimes can replicate some of Exum's defensive impact while hoping to get his shooting back on track with the passing and spacing provided by Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. The career 37.1% three-point shooter had a bad shooting slump last season — missing his final 17 threes — but had a history of success with the Knicks.

As for Dinwiddie, the veteran point guard started 53 games for the Mavericks in 2022-23, before he was sent to the Brooklyn Nets in the trade for Irving. Dinwiddie doesn't attack the rim like he used to, but he can still hit open shots and take care of the ball as a backup point.

Dallas will miss Exum, but they have the in-house solutions to cover his absence. For Exum, it's another instance in which his body betrayed him just as he found an NBA home. At least he'll be extremely rested by the time the Mavericks' playoff push begins.