Camping day 4: Final thoughts from the week in Las Vegas

For the Mavericks, what happens in Vegas doesn’t just stay in Vegas

Friday was the final practice day in Las Vegas for the Mavericks before heading back to Dallas. If you thought it’d be a slow news day, you’d be incorrect! Between the Exum injury and other camp stories, there’s a lot to discuss. Here’s 6 thoughts on Friday and the week in Vegas as a whole.

1. While the Dante Exum injury is obviously very unfortunate, the Mavs have the guard depth to absorb some injuries and still have a quality rotation. If Dante’s out for an extended period, it could potentially open more minutes for Jaden Hardy and Spencer Dinwiddie, who both will expect consistent playing time. Instead of running 6 deep at guard, it’ll presumably be down to 5 deep with Exum out for a while. Perhaps the Mavs circle back on a guy like Dennis Smith Jr., but it seems unlikely at this point.
2. Given Exum’s redemption story, him potentially missing an extended period of time just sucks. As I wrote in his player preview, he was set to be in a position to earn himself an extension and find some stability in the NBA here in Dallas. While that’s not out of the question, especially if he is able to return and play at a high level, the path to that just got more difficult.
3. We don’t know the extent of the injury to Dante’s wrist, whether it’s a bone, ligament or otherwise. We do know Exum’s injury is to his right wrist, which is a big deal considering that is his dominant hand. Hopefully once the team is back in Dallas on Saturday, they can get imaging done to determine the extent and establish a timeline for Dante’s return.
4. The Mavs center rotation could be the best in the NBA. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, a Dallas fan favorite, noted on Friday’s “Hoop Collective” podcast that with Dereck Lively seemingly starting at the 5, Daniel Gafford could be the best backup big in the NBA. How far we have come from the days of Samuel Dalembert! Injuries will obviously play a factor, but with Lively and Gafford healthy Dallas can once again employ the “48 minutes of rim rolling lobs” strategy that worked so well at the end of last season. I’m very excited to see the lineup possibilities with the bigs.
5. At practice on Friday, head coach Jason Kidd noted how Klay Thompson’s leadership has stood out early on in camp.

The veteran leadership group on the Mavericks looks to be taking shape, with Thompson joining the existing veteran leaders in Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic, Markieff Morris & Dwight Powell. Setting the tone early on in camp is critical, especially when you have some moving pieces in the rotation as Dallas does.

6. Seeing Quentin Grimes talk about how he’s tried to shadow Klay Thompson early on gives me a lot of hope for what he can be in Dallas. Grimes was a guy who was considered untouchable at times with the Knicks due to his unique 3 & D skillset. Being able to spend hours upon hours crafting your game behind one of the best 3 & D wings of all time in Klay Thompson has to feel surreal for QG.

7. I was high on the three additions to begin with, but after 4 days in Vegas, I couldn’t be happier with where the Mavs newcomers are. As mentioned in our day 1 practice recap, Naji Marshall has impressed many so far in camp, including Klay Thompson. With Thompson taking a leadership role and both Marshall & Grimes impressing early, it’s hard to be anything but thrilled with the additions that Nico Harrison & company made this summer.

The Mavericks will be back in Dallas for Fan Jam on Sunday morning. The open practice is slated to tip off at 11:15 a.m. at the American Airlines Center. The first preseason game is Monday, October 7th at home against Memphis. The game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and will be streamed live on mavs.com. Until then, we’ll have more on training camp, as well as our continuing season preview coverage, right here at Mavs Moneyball.