Dallas Mavericks fans have been on edge regarding Dante Exum and his status ahead of the 2025-26 season, as he missed significant time during training camp and didn't play in Dallas' first preseason game due to an undisclosed reason, but Jason Kidd cleared the air ahead of the Mavs' preseason game on Saturday evening on what has been going on with the 30-year-old Australian guard.
And it wasn't great news.
Kidd opened up his pregame press conference with an update on Exum's status moving forward, announcing that he would be out against Charlotte due to "sore knee irritation," and that he is set to be out "for a little bit." The speculation that Exum was missing time due to an injury was correct, and Dallas is going to have to find out how to replace his production quickly.
Dante Exum's injuries are happening too often to overlook
Kidd made it clear that the Mavericks will take the "long-term approach" with Exum and his injury recovery, but things aren't looking great, considering that Exum has already had an injury in his right knee in the past. Exum partially tore his patellar tendon in his right knee in March of 2019, causing him to undergo season-ending surgery and be out until mid-November of the following season.
Dante Exum is dealing with sore knee irritation, per Jason Kidd, so he is going to be out for “a bit.” pic.twitter.com/CtgKS3vJTz
— Noah Weber (@noahweber00) October 11, 2025
Exum's injury history is well-documented, as he has only played in 320 games over his eight seasons in the NBA, playing in 75 games over his first two seasons in Dallas. He has dealt with various injuries as a Maverick, including a wrist injury that required surgery as well as a fracture in his hand, and his right knee acting up right before the season begins is awful news. Dallas is already extremely thin at guard, and Exum being out is going to make things even tougher on Kidd as he tries to figure out his rotation.
Kyrie Irving is set to miss time with a torn ACL to begin the season, and now with Exum potentially out, the Mavs are going to be in a tough position as they try to gain positioning in a loaded Western Conference to begin the season. Brandon Williams and D'Angelo Russell are going to have to ride the storm for a while, and Exum's future could turn grim quickly.
While the Mavericks can't waive Exum since they wouldn't be able to sign another player to a veteran's minimum, they could look to trade him in a salary dump if they are seriously worried that his injury is going to keep him out for a large chunk of the season. Regardless, Exum's injuries are extremely concerning, especially after the season Dallas had last year, with some of the worst injury luck in franchise history.
This update from Kidd regarding one of the Mavs' top reserve guards is not what Mavericks fans wanted to hear, and his time in Dallas could be coming to an end at some point this season if they decide to move on from him. It's hard to justify that he should stick around much longer, especially since he can't seem to escape the injury bug that has plagued his career to this point, and it'll be interesting to see how the narrative around Exum shifts as the year goes on.
The Mavericks waived Olivier-Maxence Prosper to make room to sign Exum, and this move could quickly look like a mistake if Exum misses extended time.