DALLAS — Santi Aldama will have to wait at least one more game. After practice Thursday, Mavericks coach Dusty May said he does not expect the forward to play Friday, when the Dallas Mavericks close the preseason against the Atlanta Hawks.
Aldama sat out both games in Macao, and he sat out Wednesday’s home game too. The 7-footer has been working back from an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee since March.
“I don’t think Santi will, but he’s getting much, much closer,” May said. “He’s progressing.”
The Mavericks open the regular season Oct. 21 at the Houston Rockets, six days after Friday’s finale.
Santi Aldama’s Road Back From Right Knee Surgery
Aldama was still with the Memphis Grizzlies when he had the procedure on March 17. It came with an orthobiologic injection to address discomfort in the knee, and it ended his season.
The Grizzlies drafted Aldama 30th overall out of Loyola (Md.) in 2021, and he spent five seasons in Memphis. In his last one there, he averaged career highs of 14.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in 27.9 minutes over 43 games, 11 of them starts, while making 35.0% of his 3-point attempts.
Memphis moved him to Dallas on July 8. The Grizzlies got AJ Johnson back in the deal, along with a top-20 protected 2030 first-round pick that originally belonged to Golden State and two future second-round picks.
Spain wanted Aldama for its FIBA World Cup 2027 qualifiers in August. He and the federation decided against rushing the knee before his first season in Dallas, and he sat out the window.
When camp opened in late September, Aldama was still limited, and the medical staff went day by day on what he could do. He did not say much about the knee at the time.
“I’m working on it. It’s been a long summer in that sense,” Aldama said. “I’m working every day and feeling better every day, so I’m excited to get back out there.”
Where Santi Aldama Fits In The Dallas Mavericks Frontcourt
Back in September, before the trip to Macao, May said Aldama has learned to put the ball on the floor against perimeter defenders. May also had a lineup in mind for him.
“Santi, obviously, being a seven-footer, could be a heck of a stretch five in a death lineup,” May said. “The problem is the other teams don’t put the fives on him. Do we have a group that can go punish a five elsewhere or can he punish a three man or four man, whoever they put on him?”
Dallas is waiting on more than Aldama up front. Daniel Gafford sat out Wednesday’s 101-97 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans with a right shoulder stinger.
Dereck Lively II has not played since Nov. 21, 2025, and he has had two surgeries on his right foot in that time. On Wednesday, starting center Moussa Cissé tweaked his left ankle, and he sat out practice the next day.
Morez Johnson Jr., out with right shin splints, is really close, May said. Marcus Sasser is expected to play a little against the Hawks after missing Wednesday with left adductor tightness.
Tip-off Friday is set for 7 p.m. CT at American Airlines Center. The opener in Houston tips off at 7:30 p.m. CT on Oct. 21.
