Dante Exum and the Dallas Mavericks have agreed to a one-year deal at the veteran’s minimum on Wednesday, as first reported by ESPN, which brings the nine-year veteran back to the team where he has played the past two seasons after a two-year overseas hiatus from the NBA.
Exum, a 6’5 guard who was once drafted in the 2014 lottery, has developed into a connective passer and reliable 3-point shooter when left open, knocking down 47 percent of his 3s since joining Dallas. He’s not a lead guard who can single-handedly create offense, but he has shown an excellent ability to run an offense and attack scrambled defenses. Defensively, he plays well at the point-of-attack and fights over screens better than most players on the Mavericks’ current roster. While Exum likely wouldn’t have a guaranteed spot in the team’s rotation as things stand now, it’s plausible that his floor-raising skillset and tempo will earn him a role as he has in past seasons.
In reaching this verbal agreement, Dallas has committed to 16 guaranteed contracts, one more than the league’s maximum. Exum, whose cap hit will be $2.3 million, would also push Dallas over the second apron, which means he likely won’t be signed until Dallas makes the necessary roster-clearing trade to clear space for his return. (No free agent can officially be signed until June 6; if Dallas signs D’Angelo Russell first using the taxpayers mid-level exception, which the team plans to use to acquire him, the Mavericks will be hard capped at the second apron.) That move, whatever it is, won’t be immediate, as DLLS’ own Marc Stein reported on Wednesday.
It could mean Dallas has a larger move in the works. Likelier, however, is that there’s at least one trade agreed to with another franchise — perhaps, say, Jaden Hardy and a second-round pick to clear cap space — that Dallas knows can be conducted if another move doesn’t appear first. But, as several teams still work to acquire centers for next season, it’s possible a player like Dwight Powell would garner interest even without the inclusion of a second-round pick. These are just hypothetical examples that explain why Dallas would feel comfortable committing to Exum now without yet having a public explanation for how the team will solve the roster dilemma he creates.
All that said, Exum returning to the team on a minimum deal is good business. After an injury plagued season last year that was more unfortunate than concerning, Dallas hopes Exum can right the career he reignited two seasons ago with this very team.
