Mavericks' next move after signing D'Angelo Russell is painfully obvious

The Dallas Mavericks opened up free agency in expected fashion by signing 29-year-old guard D'Angelo Russell to a two-year contract with a player option in the final season of the deal. This gives the Mavericks the stopgap point guard they've been coveting to fill in the playmaking and shot creation gaps alongside Brandon Williams and Jaden Hardy, as Kyrie Irving's absence to start the season provides a huge void in that department.

However, it's also been reported by NBA insider Marc Stein that Dallas would love to bring Dante Exum back if at all possible, though this would almost certainly have to involve Dallas salary dumping one of Jaden Hardy or Olivier-Maxence Prosper. The Mavericks have filled their 15-man roster with the Russell signing and are hard-capped at the second apron, so they have to relieve some salary and at least one player if they want to find a way to bring back Exum on a cheap deal

Why are Prosper or Hardy the most likely candidates to be moved? Well, it's because both of them have some of the smallest annual salaries on the roster and could fit inside trade exceptions across the league, as well as the fact that they are both young players who haven't shown as much improvement as fans had hoped by this stage in their careers.

Mavericks should trade Hardy or Prosper to make space for Exum

If Dallas fails to dump one of Hardy or Prosper in a trade, it certainly isn't the end of the world, as they addressed their primary need this offseason by getting another creator in Russell, but Dallas would be smart to round out their guard rotation by bringing back a strong point-of-attack defender in Exum. Exum has been a polarizing player in Dallas due to all the injuries he's sustained, but he's been extremely efficient when he's been in the lineup.

Exum has only played in 75 regular season games through two seasons in Dallas, but he's been a stellar defender, transition player, and secondary playmaker since he arrived in 2023. Last season, Exum averaged 8.7 points and 2.8 assists per game on 47.8/43.4/74.2 shooting splits. Exum has been a big-time shotmaker since he's been in Dallas too, never shying away from taking a spot-up 3-pointer or attacking the basket when the game is on the line.

There's also the possibility the Mavericks could trade Hardy or Prosper and then sign another free agent instead of Exum. While that's not impossible, Exum returning to Dallas seems like it would be a tailor-made situation, as Exum has revived his NBA career with the Mavericks and would fill Dallas' only other arguable need, which is guard help and perimeter defense.

In the modern NBA, teams can no longer have those fill-in type of reserves at the end of their bench if they want to be competitive, and Exum is a versatile piece that can play with multiple other guards on the floor and knows Dallas' system well, so it'd certainly be in Dallas' best interest to retain him on another deal if they can find a team willing to take a flyer on Hardy or Prosper. Exum coming back or not won't necessarily make-or-break Dallas' championship odds, but the Mavericks learned just how precious solid guard depth can be after they were doomed by injuries last season, so he's easily the best other realistic free agent available for the Mavericks to consider after getting Russell.