Mavericks Notes: Trade Deadline, Exum, Kelley, Marshall

The Mavericks have been reeling in their last month-plus of action with All-Star guard Luka Doncic sidelined. How many of Dallas’ issues just boil down to the absence of Doncic and some other injured vets? As the February 6 deadline approaches, Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News previews the team’s trade options.

Since Doncic strained his left calf during a Christmas Day loss to Minnesota, the Mavericks have gone 6-11. Dallas has fallen to a 26-22 record on the season, and now occupies the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. The Mavericks are just 2.5 games behind the fourth-seeded Nuggets, but also only lead the No. 11-seed Warriors by two games.

Last season, Dallas made two pivotal deadline deals, acquiring forward P.J. Washington and center Daniel Gafford. With the club’s frontcourt hugely improved, the Mavericks made a run all the way to the 2024 NBA Finals. This year, Curtis observes that Dallas has significantly more depth heading into the deadline, but has been waylaid by multiple injuries.

While Curtis doesn’t expect as active a deadline as in 2024, he’s skeptical that general manager Nico Harrison will fully stand pat and posits that Dallas could look to add a defense-first swingman.

There’s more out of the Lone Star State:

• Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said on Wednesday that reserve guard Dante Exum, who has missed the entire season so far while recuperating from a right wrist surgery, is inching closer to a comeback, according to Curtis (Twitter link). “He’s trending in the right way,” Kidd said. “His wrist feels really good. He looks good. We’ll see how he does today/tomorrow. Hopefully that continues and we’ll get to see him sometime maybe on this trip. Maybe.” The Mavericks have four games remaining on their current five-game road trip.
• Two-way Mavericks big man Kylor Kelley spoke to Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal (subscriber exclusive) about his pro debut in a 130-108 Monday victory over Washington. “It was unreal, really. It was my first NBA regular season game,” the 27-year-old rookie told Afseth. “I had played one preseason game with L.A. back in October, but this was totally different. It was just awesome being out there. I wasn’t really feeling nervous, just excited, and had a lot of energy that I wanted to express on the court, and I thought I did that with the time that I got.” In eight minutes, Kelley score one point and grabbed four boards. He earned praise from Kidd for his efforts. “ I thought his activity and his talk… he was vocal for someone just to get here,” the Mavs’ coach said. “His voice could be heard on the floor, and that’s a great sign for a newcomer.”
• Following four-game absence, Mavericks reserve forward Naji Marshall returned from an illness for Dallas’ 137-136 victory over New Orleans on Wednesday. Playing his first game since January 20, he was held to a minutes restriction, Afseth tweets. In 15 minutes of action, the 6’7″ wing scored five points on 2-of-5 shooting from the floor.