How latest Mavericks signing could be the missing piece for roster

The Dallas Mavericks have been thin at guard since Kyrie Irving went down with a torn ACL last season on March 3 against the Sacramento Kings – that, plus the Luka Doncic and Quentin Grimes trades, weakened the Mavericks back court, forcing them to dig deep to find players to fill those roles last season.

The Dallas front office addressed this issue somewhat in the offseason by signing free agent D'Angelo Russell as well as picking up two undrafted free agents in Ryan Nembhard and Miles Kelly, but they needed more depth in the group, as it's unlikely two rookies who will be splitting time between the NBA and G League will be impact players off the bat.

Enter combo guard Dante Exum, who Dallas just officially re-signed. The hybrid wing and point guard played the majority of his minutes at the lead initiator spot last year for the Mavericks, though he only played in 20 games due to both a wrist surgery in the early part of the season as well as a broken bone in his left hand, the second of which occurred on March 14.

The Dallas Mavericks have officially re-signed guard Dante Exum.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) September 1, 2025

While it's a crucial signing, it's also important to note that Exum, like much of this roster, is injury prone, having dealt with the aforementioned issues last year. As has been mentioned in many previous articles, health is going to be the key for this Mavericks team this season – they have plenty of talent, but much of their roster has had issues staying on the court, especially in the past year.

Last season, Dallas fired its award-winning training staff and its leader, Casey Smith, and had so many players down that they were nearly in danger of forfeiting games. They eventually fired the replacement staff and brought in qualified medical professionals, but the damage was done, and Dallas struggled into the Play-In Tournament, where they lost to Memphis, failing to make the 16-team playoff field.

Still, if Exum can play, he can provide solid backup point guard minutes for a team that desperately needs them. With just three real point guards on the roster at the moment, including Exum, he has to provide minutes, as Russell and Brandon Williams may not be enough by themselves to carry the back court before Irving makes his return.

Exum's role will be extremely important to the Mavericks' success early in the season, and fans will have to cross their fingers that this roster can stay healthy the majority of the year.

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