8. Dante Exum
Injuries have slowed down and possibly derailed what was looking like a promising career for Dante Exum, the No. 5 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
Entering the league as an explosive 19-year-old point guard full of potential, Exum was a big part of the future plans of the Utah Jazz.
He was being brought along at a reasonable pace as a part-time rookie starter, but tore an ACL in his knee the summer before his second season.
Sidelined for that entire campaign, Exum returned in 2016-17 and looked good. Then a shoulder injury forced him to miss most of the 2017-18 season.
In light of all these stupid overrated/underated/whateverated tweets if you’re a Jazz fan that doesn’t recognize Dante Exum as the most overrated player on the Jazz team, well I’ve got some news for you...
— Duece (@mental_dental2) August 15, 2019
Apparently undaunted, the Jazz signed Exum to a three-year, $33 million extension in 2018. He averaged 6.9 points and 2.6 assists per game last season, shooting 41.9 percent from the field and 29.0 percent from 3-point range.
Ankle and knee injuries limited him to 42 games, however, and Exum didn’t play during Utah’s 2019 playoff run.
Exum is a decent backup point guard, but the Jazz probably aren’t thrilled now to be spending $9.6 million per year for the next two years on an injury-plagued decent backup when their new starting point guard — borderline All-Star veteran Mike Conley Jr. — is making between $32-34 million per year.