Jason Kidd gives cryptic answer about key Mavericks' injury

That's an alarming update, especially for someone who has dealt with injuries throughout his entire career. Exum only played in 20 games last season due to a wrist injury that required surgery in training camp, and then he fractured his hand soon after returning.

The Mavericks made it a priority to bring Exum back this summer, even choosing to waive-and-stretch Olivier-Maxence Prosper since they couldn't find a trade for him to get the deal done. Waiving Prosper will cost the Mavs about $1 million over the next three seasons. They knew they needed some additional ball-handling because of the injury to Irving, but now Exum is dealing with some kind of injury, too.

Other Mavericks Injury Updates

Jason Kidd did provide some injury updates on other players.

On Daniel Gafford, he said, "Daniel’s doing a little running…I think he’s feeling better, so he’s going in the right direction.”

Gafford's initial timeframe to return was 2-3 weeks, and Monday's preseason game marked one week. He seems on pace to return for the start of the regular season on October 22nd.

Caleb Martin and Dennis Smith Jr. didn't play in Monday's preseason game, but Kidd did provide that they went through about half of practice on Tuesday. They are also still trying to acquire Smith's G-League rights from the Milwaukee Bucks, which is important to the Mavs, since it's unlikely that he makes the main roster. Dallas does have an open two-way contract, but Smith is ineligible for that spot.

There has been no update on when Irving could return, and Irving himself has said he won't provide a timetable, only focusing on being 100% healthy. The initial report months ago indicated that Irving could return around January, and he does seem to be making great progress, but if the team is struggling, he may take a little extra time to make sure he's ready.