The Dallas Mavericks have emerged as a legitimate NBA Play-In Tournament contending team in the Western Conference. Dallas currently holds the No. 9 seed with a 37-38 record. If the Mavs clinch a play-in position, though, they will have a difficult decision to make.
Dante Exum will miss the remainder of the season with a hand injury. Meanwhile, two-way players Brandon Williams and Kessler Edwards have already used up their maximum amount of games with the Mavs this season. Dallas is unable to convert either players' contracts to a standard NBA deal due to financial reasons. According to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, though, there may be a route to having both Williams and Edwards available for a potential play-in tournament appearance.
In order for both to be available in the postseason, however, the Mavs would need to cut a different player. That player may be Dante Exum, according to The Stein Line.
“They'll also need to create an extra roster spot to add both, which realistically can only be done by releasing Dante Exum after Exum sustained a season-ending broken left hand,” the latest article from The Stein Line reads.
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Moving on from Exum would be a challenging decision to make, especially with Kyrie Irving, who is dealing with an ACL injury, expected to miss time next season. Exum, a 29-year-old guard, has played an impactful role with the Mavs in his two seasons in Dallas. He has dealt with injury trouble, though.
Exum was limited to 55 games played a season ago. In 2024-25, Exum has appeared in only 18 games. He missed the first three months of the year while recovering from a wrist injury. Exum returned and played fairly well before suffering the aforementioned hand injury.
Will the team consider cutting Exum? Only time will tell, but it would seemingly prove to be a necessary decision if the Mavericks want both Edwards and Williams available in the NBA Play-In Tournament.