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By Alex Kirschenbaum
Contributing Entertainment Writer
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Could Dallas Mavericks guard Dante Exum's 2024-25 encore season be over before it even starts?
Sources inform Shams Charania of The Athletic that the veteran incurred what is being called "a serious right wrist injury," exact terms of which have yet to be divulged. Surgery may be needed to deal with the ailment, Charania adds. That said, Dallas is currently considering a variety of potential methods for dealing with the injury.
Exum, a former lottery pick, signed a veteran's minimum deal with Dallas as a reclamation project last year. He blossomed into a key defensive presence off the bench for a Finals-bound Mavericks club, providing critical point-of-attack coverage on the kinds of athletic guards All-Star starters Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving could never hope to contain.
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Now 29-year-old, the versatile Aussie was initially selected with the No. 5 pick by the Utah Jazz in the 2014 NBA Draft.
He struggled with injuries throughout that run, missing the Jazz's entire 2015-16 season and all but 14 contests in 2017-18. The 6-foot-5 combo guard was subsequently dealt to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2019-20 but had difficulty developing much of a shooting stroke.
The Cavaliers later traded to the Houston Rockets as part of the four-team swap that shipped out All-Star guard James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets and All-Star center Jarrett Allen and wing Taurean Prince to Cleveland. Exum never played a game for Houston, and though he re-signed with the team for 2021-22, he was cut prior to the start of the season.
He played on pro teams in Spain, for FC Barcelona in 2021-22, and in Serbia, for Partizan Belgarde in 2022–2023.
Read More: How Ex-Lottery Pick Returned To NBA After 2-Year Absence
Exum inked a two-year, $6.2 million contract with Dallas in the summer of 2023, after spending two seasons abroad. He has now radically outperformed that contract and, health permitting, seemed to be in line for a major raise next summer. The nature and extent of this wrist ailment is worth monitoring, as it could put a major damper on his impending free agency — at least, from his perspective. For the cap-conscious Mavericks, the injury now could help the team sign him to something of a sweetheart deal, allowing them to retain a valuable role player at effectively a discount price.
Across 55 contests with the Mavericks last year (17 starts), Exum averaged 7.8 points on a shockingly efficient-for-him slash line of .533/.491/.779. That 49.1 percent mark from 3-point land, on 2.0 triple tries a night, represents a career-high, albeit on a fairly low volume. He also pulled down 2.7 rebounds and dished out 2.9 dimes across 19.8 minutes per. Exum saw his minutes reduced drastically in the postseason and averaged just 6.9 per, though he did appear in 21 contests for Dallas. The Mavericks were bested in the Finals by the Boston Celtics in five games.
Read More: Celtics Win Record-Breaking 18th NBA Finals With Blowout Over Mavericks
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