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Utah Jazz: 3 Words For Dante Exum: Get Well Soon!

By DJoumbarey A. Moreau

November 21, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Utah Jazz guard Dante Exum (11) and head coach Quin Snyder (right) talk during the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Jazz 101-88. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
November 21, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Utah Jazz guard Dante Exum (11) and head coach Quin Snyder (right) talk during the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Jazz 101-88. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tuesday night it was reported by Jody Genessy, who covers the Utah Jazz for Deseret News, that Dante Exum has a torn ACL.

The injury happened Tuesday night when Exum was playing in an organized basketball game with the Australian national team.

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Australia has been playing in a number of exhibition games in Europe in order to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. They ended their three-game losing streak by defeating Slovenia 66-51, but in the process they lost one of their essential pieces.

The injury was a non-contact injury and it looked similar to when Derrick Rose played against the Philadelphia 76ers and got his first knee injury during the 2012 NBA playoffs. The injury happened right after Exum planted his left knee into the ground while driving to the basket.

Exum’s knee gave out and he was forced to sit on the bench for the entire second half wearing street clothes and a heavy wrap on his left knee.

Rose:

Exum: 

ALSO ON HOOPSHABIT: Utah Jazz: Why Wouldn’t You Start Trey Burke?

(The link above is a story that I wrote on why Trey Burke should be starting. My opinion is that Burke is a better option at point guard if the Jazz want to see success. However, there’s no way that I, or anyone else, wanted to see Exum get hurt. At the end of the day we’re still talking about a young player in the league who still trying to find his game.)

One of the biggest reasons why the Rose injury is much different than Exum’s is because at the time Rose was already an accomplished player. Rose had already won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, was a three-time All-Star, made the All-NBA First Team, and won the NBA Rookie of the Year award. Rose was on pace (and still is), to have a Hall of Fame career.

Exum on the other hand had a season where he had to scrap and claw for minutes to get on the court. He finally was awarded the starting point guard position and Utah started to win a lot more games.

Exum, who many people think could have a Rose-like career (making multiple All-Star appearances), was entering into his sophomore year and was expected by many people to take a big step forward.

To have the season snatched up from him in a year where the Jazz are expected to make a playoff push is devastating news. The young boy was just getting started and now he’s most likely going to miss the entire NBA season rehabilitating his left knee.

Some of the Twitter reactions from some of his Jazz & Australian teammates.

Ben Simmons:

https://twitter.com/BenSimmons25/status/628751819842428929

Rudy Gobert:

https://twitter.com/rudygobert27/status/628685589160853504

Derrick Favors:

Joe Ingles:

https://twitter.com/Joeingles7/status/628692555824132096

Fan Reaction: 

Outside of Exum, the Jazz were already aware that a lot of their players could and might play in international competition this summer and in the 2016 Olympics. Joe Ingles (Australia), Trey Burke (USA), Gordon Hayward (USA), Rudy Gobert (France), Raul Neto (Brazil), Tibor Pleiss (Germany) and Trey Lyles (Canada) all all on their respective national watch lists.

For all of the people thinking why do the Jazz let their players run free in the offseason? Basketball players play basketball because they love playing basketball. If Exum or any other player that plays basketball in the offseason and gets injured while playing it doesn’t matter where they play.

If Exum was playing in Australia, L.A. Fitness, or at Rucker Park, he was going to play basketball. Injuries are a part of the game.

If there are any positive takeaways from Exum’s injury it’s that he’s still young and he has many more years in his NBA career. A lot of knee injuries go south for players and occur when they have established themselves in the league. Players like Shaun Livingston, Brandon Roy, Anfernee Hardaway, Tracy McGrady and Gilbert Arenas all had to deal knee injuries.

Exum will now have all the time in the world to work on strengthening the other parts of his body. With his 6’6″ frame, working on his chest, arms and upper body should do him tremendous help when he comes back from his year-long break. He’ll be more strong and will have the ability to get to the line more often.

In addition sitting for a year and watching from the sideline could help him learn the game more. Sitting next to Quin Snyder the entire season and picking his brain while watching Trey Burke, Raul Neto and Bryce Cotton the entire year should help boost his basketball I.Q.

All we can say at this point, is get well soon!

Next: Utah Jazz: Why Wouldn't You Start Trey Burke?

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