Mavericks veteran guard's untimely injury throws serious wrench into rotation

The summer and NBA offseason is typically thought of as a time that players can recuperate properly ahead of a treacherous 82-game season. However, that hasn't necessarily been the case for the Dallas Mavericks this offseason.

Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic has been ailing from multiple different injuries in the offseason after the Slovenian national team was eliminated by Greece in the semifinals of the Olympic qualifying tournament, as it was apparent that Doncic was still dealing with a myriad of injuries from the 2024 NBA Playoffs during those qualifying games.

It would make sense that Doncic makes a full recovery from his injuries ahead of training camp starting for the Mavericks, though we haven't received a formal update on his injuries since the Finals. Fellow superstar Kyrie Irving is in the process of recovering from a broken left hand that he suffered during an offseason workout in July, and while Irving is expected to make a full recovery by the start of training camp, a formal update on his status has not been provided since August.

These injuries to Dallas' top two players are obviously fairly concerning, though it does appear in all likelihood that both Doncic and Irving will be at 100 percent once training camp starts.

Dante Exum's injury has massive implications for Dallas' guard rotation

However, this sentiment cannot be carried to Mavericks guard Dante Exum, as it was recently announced by insider Marc Stein of DLLS Mavs that Exum still hasn't been cleared to participate in full basketball activities or five-on-five after dislocating his right index finger in the Olympics with Australia.

It should be noted that Stein thinks Exum is on track to return to 100 percent upon the arrival of training camp, though that certainly isn't a guarantee. After some of the moves they made this offseason, the Dallas Mavericks are even better equipped to deal with an injury like this to Exum than they were last year, as Dallas brought in Quentin Grimes and Spencer Dinwiddie to shore up their guard rotation off the bench.

Third-year guard Jaden Hardy will also be competing for minutes off the bench, as he rounds out arguably the most talented array of guards the Mavericks have ever had on one roster. With that being said, this injury to Exum could force him out of Dallas' rotation if he starts to miss extended time with this finger dislocation, as there are plenty of mouths to feed for minutes off the bench with Dallas' carousel of guards.

Among Dallas' four guards, you can almost put them into two categories, as Hardy and Dinwiddie are more score-first guards, and Grimes and Exum are more defensive-minded guards. Taking that into consideration, it's hard to see Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd playing more than one of each type of those guards off the bench once the regular season kicks into high gear, as Irving and Doncic will assume an abundance of Dallas' guard minutes right off the bat.

There's no guarantee that Exum will play on a nightly basis even if he's fully healthy, so for his sake, hopefully, this injury doesn't throw a wrench into his personal goals for the 2024-25 season. Kidd is known to be more experimental toward the beginning of the season, which bodes well for Exum receiving minutes even if this injury does affect his start to the season, though it can't be discounted that there will be at least one odd man out of Dallas' guard rotation at some point this season.