The rookie season for Dante Exum has been rough. Very rough. Like the shipwreck in the movie Life of Pi rough.
Some people see Exum as the Defensive Rookie of the Year (which he arguably could be), while others see him as a player who needs to learn a lot more (which he also needs to do).
Regardless of the different opinions, the fact still remains that the fifth pick in the 2014 NBA Draft is averaging 4.7 points, 2.3 assists, 1.7 assists per game, while shooting 35 percent from the floor, and 31 percent from the three-point line.
The Utah Jazz knew that their point guard of the future would take some time to develop. But what can they do to help expedite his developmental process?
Exum’s had his fair share of great games this season like the time when he had 13 points, four rebounds, four assists in a win against the Brooklyn Nets. Or the time when he scored 15 points, and had five assists in a victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. However, even in the midst of those great games it was still difficult to see the type of player that Exum would become in the future.
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Some rookies in the NBA come into the league and we know what to expect from them as they play. Whether it’s rookies like Elfrid Payton, Marcus Smart and Andrew Wiggins, who are known for their defense, or other rookies like Zach LaVine and Markel Brown, who are known for their athleticism.
For Exum, it’s been almost a year and we still don’t truly understand what type of player he is, or will become, and that’s a little troubling. Thankfully the International Man of Mystery only shows the skill set that he’s good at in quick glimpses.
The Style
The question still remains, when we watch Dante Exum play what type of point guard should he be labeled as?
Exum’s not a distributor like Rajon Rondo or Jose Calderon. He’s not a facilitator like John Wall or Chris Paul. He’s not even an attacking scoring guard like Russell Westbrook or Damian Lillard.
But everything he’s not makes him everything he is. So when the question is raised, what can Exum be categorized as? The answer is simple, it’s an initiator.
Exum plays the game with the basic function of a point guard. His job is to start the offense, and to get the basketball into the hands of the best player. He’s the type of player who’s going to get the job done without taking a bunch of risks. This is ideal for the Jazz, especially for coach Quin Snyder’s style of offensive philosophy, because Exum won’t be the reason why the Jazz lose games.
A few prime examples of initiator point guard types are Mike Bibby, Steve Blake, and even Mike Conley. Additionally one person who was a great NBA player, and a solid professional is the former point guard Rafer Alston.
It might be tough to see other point guards in the 2014 NBA Draft excel at a higher rate than Exum, but he’s favorably compared to Alston in his rookie season. In Alston’s rookie season he averaged numbers close to Exum as he put up 2.2 points and 2.6 assists per game.
Alston also shot badly from the field as he went 28 percent from the floor, and 21 percent from the three-point line.
Even though Alston had been playing basketball with the And 1 Mixtape circuit for most of his basketball career before coming into the league, when he came into the league there was a big adjustment to his game. No longer could he be flashy as he was when he played on the different black top asphalt courts in New York City.
Alston had to tone down his game to conform to the strictness and rigidity of the league.
Exum on the other hand already plays with a discipline in his game, so he won’t take big chances attempting to take his man off the dribble, or to attempt to do something jaw dropping.
People might have expected more from Exum but it’s not the worst person in the world to draw a comparison to because Alston eventually went on to average 14.2 points, 6.4 assists, 3.5 rebounds, while shooting 41 percent from the floor, and 35 percent from the three-point line in his best season.
Exum is only 19 years old, he’s never played organized basketball in the United States, and his development will occur in his own time span. If Exum could even scratch Alston’s numbers added in with his excellent on ball defense, then he’ll be a starting point guard in the league for a long time.
The Jazz might have wanted an All-Star point guard, but Exum might not be that, ever, and might not need to ever become one. The Jazz have future All-Star players in Gordon Hayward, and Derrick Favors, so as long as Exum can continue to get better and increase his value to their team the Jazz will win more games.
The defense is the strongest part of his game now, and when his offense finally catches up to it, he’s going to become a solid NBA player.
Pick and Roll
The usage rate for Dante Exum is scary bad. His usage rate is down there with Nik Stauskas, James Ennis, Damjan Rudez, Joe Ingles and Tarik Black. Bottom line, he’s got to start getting involved more during games.
Way too often in games does Exum bring the basketball up the court, pass it off and then lay low in the corner. Because of his passiveness on offense he’s only had 27 games with three or more assists. Also, because of his lack of aggression Exum doesn’t have the basketball in his hands, and he’s forced to shoot jump shots, which isn’t a strength of his yet.
On the bright side he averages fewer turnovers than his other rookie point guard counterparts such as Elfrid Payton, Shabazz Napier, Marcus Smart, and Jordan Clarkson, but that’s because they have the basketball in their hands more because all of them also average more assists per game than he does as well.
But instead of looking at what Exum’s not, let’s look at what he is. When we see Exum play the best it’s usually because he’s something very efficiently as he’s using the pick and roll.
There have been a number of players that have used the pick and roll as their bread and butter. Utah Jazz legend and arguably the greatest point guard in NBA history John Stockton, rode the pick and roll to two trips to the NBA Finals, as well as a seat in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
The J-Notes
Furthermore another person who used the pick and roll to their advantage is none other than Steve Nash. Back when Nash played for the Phoenix Suns, he used the pick and roll to get him two MVPs, and to make a few deep playoff runs.
Nash, like Exum, wasn’t the quickest point guard, but he was athletic enough to get to any spot on the floor because of the way that he used the pick and roll. More importantly, Nash was awesome when it came to making decisions when he used the pick and roll and because of it he always had the defense at a disadvantage.
When teams would sag off of him, Nash was going to pull without hesitation. When the defense went over the screen, he would get past his defender and find the open cutter, or shooter in the lane.
With that being said, because Exun’s great when he’s in the pick and roll it might be time for coach Snyder to build an offense around his ability within the pick and roll. Exum’s shown this season that he’s shown that he’s a capable player when multiple screens are set. Having an athletic big such as Derrick Favors who can step out and make a jump shot will also benefit his game.
Gobert can come in and play the Amar’e Stoudemire role.
The observations would say that Exum’s only a pick and roll based offense away from becoming a solid NBA player.
The question is will the Jazz revamp their entire offense for someone averaging less than five points a game?
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