As the 2025-26 season approaches, the Dallas Mavericks are facing a major challenge – they’ll start the year without star guard Kyrie Irving.
Irving tore his ACL back in March and hasn’t played since. It’s a tough blow for the Mavs, who’ve been scrambling to add guard depth this offseason.
One name that’s been floating around Dallas for weeks is veteran guard Dante Exum. On Monday, that speculation finally became reality when NBA insider Keith Smith reported the Mavericks have officially signed Exum to a one-year standard contract.
The move didn’t come without sacrifice. To make room for Exum, Dallas had to cut someone – and that someone was Olivier-Maxence Prosper, their 2023 first-round pick.
By waiving Prosper and stretching his contract, the Mavs will pay him about $1 million annually for the next three years. This creative accounting helped them stay under the second apron of the salary cap while bringing Exum back into the fold.
The reunion makes sense for both sides. Marc Stein previously reported mutual interest between the team and the 30-year-old guard, despite Exum’s injury-plagued 2024-25 campaign.
Last year was particularly frustrating for Exum. He missed the first 48 games after wrist surgery during training camp. Then, just when he was finding his rhythm, a hand fracture ended his season after just 20 appearances.
Unfortunately, injuries have been the story of Exum’s career. The Australian was picked fifth overall in the 2015 draft but never quite lived up to that potential during his first seven NBA seasons with the Jazz and Cavaliers.
After a two-year stint playing overseas in 2021-22 and 2022-23, Dallas gave him another shot at the NBA dream. Now they’re doubling down on that bet.
The Mavericks aren’t putting all their eggs in one basket, though. They also signed D’Angelo Russell this offseason, giving them two solid options at point guard while Irving recovers.
Between Exum and Russell, the Mavs should have enough firepower to stay competitive until their star guard returns. The question is whether Exum can finally stay healthy enough to make a consistent impact when the team needs him most.
