Dante Exum returned for his second season after a torn ACL in 2016-17, bolstering an already-strong point guard position for the Utah Jazz. How did his year stack up?
The Utah Jazz thought they had gotten their point guard of the future in the summer of 2014, when they selected Dante Exum with the fifth pick in that year’s draft.
Of course, this vision was dealt a blow last August, when he went down with an ACL tear that caused him to miss all of the 2015-16 season and left the Jazz without a floor general.
He began working his way back this year, occasionally being thrown into the rotation due to varying circumstances but mostly serving as the second, third or fourth string point guard.
Between injuries to George Hill and Exum himself, the Jazz didn’t really have a set order of business at their lead guard position, which made it difficult for the rest of the team to adapt to each player’s differing style.
In 2016-17, Exum averaged 6.2 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game on 42 percent shooting from the field. Of course, he played in just 18.6 minutes per contest, often seeing his playing time fluctuate from game to game.
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His stats this year have to be taken with a grain of salt, as he had no real NBA skill base to fall back on. However, that doesn’t mean the flashes he showed, both positive and negative, don’t give us a greater understanding of the player he can and will be.
In order to recap the year that was for Exum, we’ll look at the best and worst aspects of his game, including where he fits in to the Jazz’s long-term plans.