Mavericks veteran breaks silence on freak injury that wrecked his season

With January coming to an end, it marks one of the Dallas Mavericks' toughest months of the season as they battled injuries to key players on a nightly basis. Not one game this season has been played with a fully healthy roster and January represented one of Dallas' toughest months as an NBA franchise.

On multiple occasions, the Mavericks would suit up against teams without multiple starters available, and it got so bad that the team regularly saw more than six players on the injury report. While Dallas has battled injuries over the last month, they had to make a back half of the roster move just to scrape by as they wait for Luka Doncic's return.

While Doncic still rehabs, the NBA's trade deadline is just days away and the Mavericks may be one of the league's most active teams as they look for stability before making the post-All-Star break playoff push.

With a trade likely looming in the coming days, the Mavericks continue to get healthier at the perfect time. Over Dallas' coming five-game road trip, Dante Exum could make his long-awaited return after injuring himself at the start of training camp in the most bizarre way.

How a single dunk set Exum's season off course

In a recent interview with Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com, Exum revealed that at the beginning of training camp, he injured himself on a routine dunk after hitting the rim the wrong way with his wrist. While Jason Kidd hinted that Exum injured his wrist while dunking the ball around the time it happened, this is the first time that Exum has spoken about the injury since it happened.

"I tried to dunk on somebody and when I dunked the ball, I guess my wrist just hit the rim at the wrong angle," Exum told Sefko. "Obviously, a bit frustrating. It's something I've done a thousand times. But I think that's just how it goes sometimes."

It's unfortunate Exum injured himself in the most routine way, but his injury has reminded fans of past times that Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford have left the rim with them grabbing their wrists in pain. While those two may not have been seriously injured in the process, Exum's injury is a reminder of just how dangerous slamming the ball hard on the rim can be.

With Exum sidelined since the start of training camp, the Mavericks have had a very short glimpse of what a potential lineup consisting of Exum will look like. While the Aussie struggled during last season's playoff run, Exum proved to be the ultimate glue guy and showed he belonged in the league after an impressive stretch during last year's regular season.

Despite his playoff struggles, Exum was sought to be one of Dallas' most coveted bench pieces before injuring his wrist on the most routine play. With the Mavericks still scrapping by before the All-Star break begins, Exum will make a nice addition off the bench assuming he comes back healthy and in shape.

Last season, Exum excelled in catch-and-shoot jumpers from behind the arc while also being one of Dallas' tertiary ball handlers off the bench. On the defensive end, Exum has always been known for his excellent on-ball defense and even displayed the ability to guard the opposing team's best player in short bursts last year.

Assuming Exum can return and become one of the Mavericks' best players off the bench, he may once again thrive from behind the arc with Doncic still sidelined. It's unclear just how much playing time Exum will get to begin his season, but it's reasonable to say Exum's return is some of the best news fans have heard in a long time.