Utah Jazz: Can A Healthy Dante Exum Live Up To His Pre-Draft Expectations?
By Aaron Mah
Projected to play behind a slew of established veterans, can Utah Jazz guard, Dante Exum, breakout this season and live up to his lofty pre-draft hype?
He once reminded ESPN College Basketball analyst and international scout Fran Fraschilla of a “baby Michael Jordan.” Going into the 2014 NBA Draft, some had compared him to the likes of Penny Hardaway and Kobe Bryant.
But as we head into the 2016-17 NBA season, Dante Exum has become somewhat of a forgotten man on the Utah Jazz‘s veteran-laden roster.
Having to miss the entirety of last season — the all important second, not to mention highly-formative, season, no less — will do that to you.
Fully recovered from his traumatic ACL-tear, though, the willowy 6’6″ combo guard is determined to make his mark after sitting out for an entire year, “It’s not that I took the game for granted before,” Exum told the Salt Lake Tribune. “But now that I finally have that privilege again, I think once you sit out all 82, you just build that fire every day. I think I have a greater respect in taking care of my body and trying to be good every night.”
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Exum first burst onto the NBA scene at the 2013 Nike Hoop Summit. During the game, the gangly Aussie dazzled the capacity crowd at the then-Rose Garden with his electrifying first step and vivacious finishing ability.
He would follow his breakout performance with a string of impressive outings at the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championships, where Exum averaged 18.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game over a nine-game stretch — en route to leading Australia to a fourth place finish.
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Dante would parlay such performances during the 2014 NBA Draft, where the Jazz selected him with the fifth overall pick despite not playing a lick of college ball or professionally overseas. His mysteriousness and unlimited ceiling also earned him a sizable shoe deal with Adidas, all before he ever stepped foot on an NBA court.
Exum, however, didn’t exactly live up to the lofty hype during his rookie campaign. With each passing game, his throngs of flaws began to surface. Explicitly, teams started to expose Exum’s glaring inability to create his own shot, his loose handle and his appalling lack of stamina.
Billed as an ultra-explosive, relentless rim attacking guard who couldn’t shoot, Exum still managed to earn a spot in head coach Quinn Snyder’s rotation despite not excelling at his preconceived strengths — driven in large by his proficiency as a three-point shooter, tethered with his mature brand of perimeter defense.
Most notably, over 63.5 percent of his field goal attempts came from beyond the arc, where he converted such attempts at a better-than-expected 31.4 percent rate, per Basketball-Reference. In many ways, Exum evolved into the ultimate system player, hoisting 39.4 percent of his three-point attempts from the corners, and converting them at a mundane 32.7 percent clip.
Not surprisingly, most of his offense came in the form of spot-ups. In fact, approximately 73.8 percent of his field goals were assisted upon during the 2014-15 season, per NBA.com.
Defensively was where Dante truly made his mark.
At 6-foot-6 (in shoes) and equipped with a 6-foot-9.5 inch wingspan, Exum utilized his elite length for his position in conjunction with his outstanding lateral quickness in stifling the dribble penetration of opposing point guards.
As a help defender, he was just as encouraging, especially considering he was still a teenager at the time. Exum was usually in the right place — crowding the boxes and elbows as the strongside helper, bumping the roll man/stunting the pick-and-pop big on the weakside, while running opposing shooters off the three-point line.
His most noticeable impediment, though, was undoubtedly his passivity on offense. When watching Exum, one word immediately came to mind: timid — which is quite ironic considering his pre-draft reputation as a fearless slasher and finisher.
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There were times where he almost refused to drive, even when an open lane presented itself. And on the rare occasion when Exum did take it to the hole, he would quickly often make a premeditated pocket pass instead of exploiting a blatant scoring opportunity.
Fast forward to present day, and Exum finds himself undertaking a limited role as we head into the upcoming season. No longer a team on the rise, the Jazz have built a squad ready to contend now — the future is here.
Likewise, Dante is no longer the franchise savior at the point. In acquiring veteran George Hill — a player who has 75 games of playoffs experience under his belt, and a floor general who has earned a positive plus-minus in each of his eight seasons in the association — in the offseason, Utah effectively shored up their biggest weakness from seasons past.
In addition to Hill, the Jazz also house an army of versatile wings, including Gordon Hayward, Rodney Hood and Joe Johnson, all capable of competently running a pick-and-roll.
The writing is on the wall: the internal expectations for Exum are at rock bottom. His role this year is to be a change-of-pace guard off the bench. If he can give coach Snyder 5-10 minute stretches of high-intensity, ball-pressuring D, it’ll be seen as the icing on the cake.
Next: NBA: 10 Candidates For A Bounce-Back Season In 2016-17
This does not mean he can’t enjoy a breakout season, though. With a newfound appreciation and fire for the game, paired with his physical gifts and a full year of refining his skills, Dante Exum may just turn some heads next season — even in a limited role.