When Dante Exum suffered a fractured left hand, it was thought that the veteran guard would miss the rest of the season. Now, Exum might make an earlier-than-expected return for Dallas.
Exum has been upgraded to questionable for the Mavericks home game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
Exum was injured in the Mavs loss to the Houston Rockets on March 14. At the time, Dallas said Exum would be re-evaluated in four weeks. Given the nature of that timing and the amount of time left in the season, it was expected that Exum’s season would be over.
The Mavericks could use the extra depth in the backcourt. Dallas has been playing with Spencer Dinwiddie and Jalen Hardy as their only available ballhandlers for a week or so. Two-way guard Brandon Williams has run out of NBA eligibility. Williams is set to be converted, but that can’t happen until April 10, at the earliest. A return for Exum, combined with signing Williams, would give Dallas additional guard depth for the final few days of the regular season and into the Western Conference Play-In Tournament.
