Lakers Interested In Mavs Point Guard Who Once Called Them A Great Organization

The 2024-25 NBA season is now officially in the books, and we're just days away from the start of the free agency period on June 30. The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to be active during free agency, and NBA insider Anthony Irwin reports they're interested in Dante Exum.

"The Lakers are going to be interested in Dante Exum for the veteran minimum."

Irwin isn't the first to report on the Lakers' interest in Exum. Khobi Price had named the Australian as one of the under-the-radar targets in free agency for the team. While Exum would be a solid backup guard, the big problem when it comes to him is availability.  

For one reason or another, Exum has struggled to stay healthy during his career. The 29-year-old signed a two-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks before the start of the 2023-24 season and has played just 75 games since then.

Exum missed time with a sprained right plantar fascia, soreness in his right knee, and right knee bursitis between January and February 2024. He would play just 55 games in his debut campaign with the franchise. That was actually the most games he had played in a single season since he featured 66 times for the Utah Jazz in 2016-17.

Any hopes of Exum having an injury-free 2024-25 campaign were dashed before the action even commenced. He suffered a right wrist injury during training camp that would rule him out for over three months. The guard only ended up making his first appearance of the campaign on Jan. 31.

The Mavericks wouldn't be able to count on Exum's services for too long, though. He broke his hand in a game against the Houston Rockets in March and would be out for almost a month. Thanks to the two injuries, he ended up playing just 20 games in the campaign.

You might brush those aside as freakish injuries, but Exum's track record suggests his body will break down at some point during the season. Is he worth the gamble for the veteran's minimum? Perhaps.

Exum averaged 8.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game for the Mavericks in 2024-25. He has become a solid defender and, of course, has experience playing alongside Luka Doncic.

You'd reckon Exum is also on good terms with Rob Pelinka, who was his agent before becoming general manager of the Lakers. He had hired Pelinka in the lead-up to the 2014 NBA Draft, which led to rumors about his wanting to be a Laker, as Kobe Bryant was the agent's most famous client.

Exum also had some high praise for the Lakers back then. 

“Obviously, the Lakers are a great organization," Exum said. "But I am in this draft to go to a place where I feel best at, that is a good fit for me, and whatever that team is, is the best place for me. There is no one place I want to go to.”

The Lakers had the seventh pick in that draft and would never get the opportunity to select Exum. The Jazz selected him with the fifth pick, while the Lakers chose Julius Randle. Will player and team finally come together 11 years later? Time will tell.