Mavericks veteran guard poised for make-or-break moment next season

Jake Ferraro

Dallas Mavericks, Dante Exum / Tim Heitman/GettyImages

The Dallas Mavericks have wasted no time getting to work on the offseason to add pieces to have another strong competitive team after losing the 2024 NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics.

Despite losing Derrick Jones Jr. and Tim Hardaway Jr., the Mavs have acquired Quentin Grimes, Naji Marshall, and one of the greatest 3-point shooters in NBA history, Klay Thompson through a sign-and-trade.

Guards have been added and subtracted this offseason for Dallas. These moves put one guard in a position next season where he faces a make-or-break year which could determine his fate with the Mavs.

Dante Exum poised for make-or-break moment next season

During the 2023-24 season, Dante Exum was an X-factor coming off the bench. Exum averaged 7.8 points per game, shot 53 percent from the field, and shot an impressive 49 percent from three. But in the 2024 Playoffs, Exum struggled deeply.

Exum averaged just two points per game while averaging less than seven minutes per game in 21 appearances. Exum's shooting percentages dropped big too. Exum shot 36 percent from the field, and 35 percent from three.

This season coming up, Exum is needs a make it type season in Dallas with the impressive guard depth on the Mavs roster. The biggest reason for Exum is his contract will run out after 2025.

On Spotrac, it shows that Exum will have a $3.15 million cap hit next season and will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. So what happens if Exum underperforms next season on an expiring contract?

It might be a possibility that the Mavs could look into trading Exum away for a piece at the deadline. General Manager Nico Harrison has made big trades each year as Mavs GM. If Exum underperforms next season, Harrison could look to use Exum in a package at the deadline to upgrade the roster.

Exum is in a tricky spot on the Mavs roster with the deep guard depth they have. With Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic, Thompson, Grimes, and even Jaden Hardy, they are quietly loaded at that position. With Exum turning 29 years old tomorrow, he is facing a season that can determine his NBA career.

Exum might have the anticipation of staying in Dallas after next season, but an underperforming season might be the end of his time in Dallas.

Jake Ferraro

Jake Ferraro is a former contributor at The Smoking Cuban, where he wrote Dallas Mavericks content from March 2024 to April 2026, including coverage of the 2024 NBA Finals. Ferraro is the former SenShot Site Expert, where he covered the Ottawa Senators for 14 months from September 2024 to November 2025. Ferraro is also a former contributor at Jays Journal, where he wrote Toronto Blue Jays content during their 2025 season, including coverage of the 2025 World Series. Ferraro graduated with his bachelor's degree in sports media from Oklahoma State University in May 2024. Toronto Sun, Yahoo, Blue Man Hoop, and Canucks Daily are sites where Ferraro's name has been mentioned in articles. Locked on Senators and The Senstennial Podcast are Senator podcasts that Ferraro has appeared on as SenShot Site Expert.