It’s hard to give Dante Exum’s time in Dallas a grade. As has become the theme with the Dallas Mavericks, when he’s been on the court, he’s been good. But the problem has been him being on the court.
When the Mavericks took a flyer on Exum in the 2023 offseason and signed the number five overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft, he had a growing history of injuries. Those injuries included a torn ACL in 2015, shoulder surgery in 2017, and a torn patellar tendon in 2019.
Exum played oversees for two seasons before signing his deal with the Mavs in 2023. Exum was a good player, but he came with risk.
Exum has averaged career highs with the Mavs in points (8.0), assists (2.8), and rebounds (2.4) in his two seasons on 19.5 minutes per game. His shooting has been incredibly efficient on 52% from the floor, 47% from three, and 77% from the free throw line. He’s a versatile defender who can also be the point guard off the bench to lead the second unit.
Jason Kidd has tested him in a variety of small roles, and Exum has passed in most of them. When he’s healthy, he’s an ideal player teams want to give their bench some a balanced mix of scoring, defending, and leadership. Wherever you put him, he’ll thrive.
The main undertone of Exum’s career has been his inability to stay on the floor. His time in Dallas has been (unfortunately) similar to his previous stints in the NBA. Since joining the Mavs, Exum has suffered a right heel contusion (2023), right foot sprain (2024), underwent wrist surgery (2024) Achilles strain (2025), and broken left hand (2025). The Mavericks need guards and need them healthy. The risk-reward of signing Exum has swayed closer to the risk side. He’s played a total of just 75 games in his two seasons in Dallas.
However, the Mavericks’ front office recognized Dallas’s dire need for creative guards and decided to waive former 2023 pick Olivier Maxence-Prosper, in order to re-sign Exum to a one-year deal. The Mavs are loaded in the frontcourt, so waiving Maxence-Prosper isn’t the end of the world, but it shows the loyalty and belief the Mavs front office has in Exum.
Well, this one is easy. A best-case scenario has Exum stay healthy. It’s hard to put a number on games played, but somewhere in the range of 60 games (about 75%) would be a win for the Mavs. Exum can lead the bench unit, give the Mavs a good number of double-digit scoring nights, while being the facilitator to help the Mavs second string offense flow. Defense should be a strong point for Dallas even without him, but having Exum certainly helps. A perfect world also has Exum still playing good defense, using his quickness to his advantage, and providing energy when Dallas needs it.
Exum deals with a plethora of injuries again and doesn’t see the floor much. Because of this, even when he plays, he’s inconsistent due to the lack of chemistry with the new players around him. Exum falls out of the rotation and Dallas leans heavily on Brandon Williams and possibly Dennis Smith Jr. This scenario would be Exum’s last year in Dallas.
Exum just needs to be on the court. If he is, the Mavericks are objectively a better team. His presence is enough to make the difference between a play-in and playoff team by season’s end.
There is only one big question mark with Dante Exum and that’s his health. A healthy Dante Exum is a key piece to Dallas’s success, especially without Kyrie Irving. Dallas has enough big men, wings, and defense. They need more depth in guys who can create their own shot and facilitate the offense, and Dante Exum can do both.