Utah Jazz: To be rewarded in free agency, Dante Exum needs to prove himself in playoffs

With his restricted free agency looming this summer, Dante Exum needs to prove his worth to his Utah Jazz team in the postseason games ahead.

The Utah Jazz currently hold a 2-1 series lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder thanks to dazzling performances from Derrick Favors and Donovan Mitchell in Game 2, and brilliant play across the starting lineup in Game 3. While it’s hard to complain with Utah holding the lead as well as home court advantage, the one area where the Jazz have been lacking has been in their bench play.

Even in Saturday’s win, the Jazz got just 15 points from their second unit compared to 34 put up by OKC’s bench. Of course, teams typically ride their starters and significantly shorten their rotations in the playoffs compared to the regular season, but getting meaningful contributions from the bench is still critical in a tightly-contested playoff series.

That’s especially true considering that the Jazz were thought to have an edge over the Thunder bench, though if that’s truly the case, it has yet to manifest itself up to this point.

One player who Jazz fans would particularly like to see step up that really hasn’t yet is Dante Exum. Not only would Exum providing more of a lift be beneficial to this Jazz team, but it also could be significant for his own future. Facing restricted free agency this summer, Exum’s postseason play could very well correlate with what kind of offers come his way following the season.

In fairness, Exum hasn’t been awful by any stretch of the imagination and even if he had been, it would be somewhat justified. After all, he missed nearly the entire season with a shoulder injury suffered during preseason that many supposed would actually be season-ending. The fact that he was able to make a return to action at all on March 15th was pretty impressive.

It’s also allowed him with little time to shake off the rust, get back into shape and become re-accustomed to playing with his Jazz team.

That said, I believe it would still be encouraging for Jazz brass to see more out of him than what he’s produced so far in an important playoff series, so they can get a better feel for how to handle his impending free agency.

Exum’s best performance came in Game 1 where he put up 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting in 18 minutes of play, the most he’s logged all series. However, even that game didn’t come without its downsides. Exum committed three turnovers in his short time on the floor and was a minus-one on the night in a game that of course resulted in a Jazz loss. From there, he’s seen his minutes decrease each game.

In the next two contests, he put up two and four points, respectively. He went 1-of-3 in Game 2, then a solid 2-of-4 in Game 3 in the fewest minutes he’s logged all season, just 10. In those brief minutes, though, he was minus-four in a game that resulted overwhelmingly in Utah’s favor. He’s also attempted just one three-pointer in the series which, unfortunately, did not go in.

To reiterate, by no means am I saying any of this to attack Exum. We all knew there would be an adjustment period as he rounded back into form from his shoulder injury. He’s played limited minutes during the playoffs. He’s still discovering his place on this team and, in reality, in the NBA.

However, in order to provide his Jazz team with more of a lift, it would be good to see Exum get a little more involved and particularly do a better job of taking care of the ball. While he’s done some good things, such as shot the ball at a solid 53.8 percent clip from the field, he’s had nearly three turnovers per game and his plus/minus is in the negative.

And if Exum wants to be rewarded handsomely in free agency, now is the time for him to prove himself while all eyes are on him and this Jazz team. It’s been previously reported that Exum could net around a two-year deal in the range of $18-20 million, which would likely be a safe bet for the Jazz to match considering the combination of potential and risk that he represents as well as how well-liked he is in Utah’s front office.

In fact, it’s entirely possible that the Jazz might be willing to spend/match an even higher rate than that if necessary to keep their former lottery pick under contract.

However, let’s just suppose, as an example, that in not wanting to tie themselves down too much, the Jazz find themselves faced with a tough decision to either pay Exum or pay Derrick Favors (assuming he wants to return as an unrestricted free agent). Suddenly, if Jazz brass was left unimpressed with Exum’s playoff performance, their willingness to send big dollars his way could wane.

I’m personally still an Exum believer, especially in Utah’s phenomenal development program, but I must admit I’m wary of his future. As much as the Utah Jazz like him, I have a feeling they have a similar feeling. If Dante is able to ramp up his performance in the upcoming playoff games and prove that he can be relied upon, albeit in limited minutes, he could go a long way in securing his spot on this Jazz roster moving forward as well as securing a nice pay bump.

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Utah is guaranteed to play at least three more playoff games and perhaps several more, meaning that Exum will have ample opportunity to prove himself in this postseason run. As the Oklahoma City Thunder aim to ramp up the intensity beginning with Monday’s Game 4, the Jazz will need his scoring punch and defensive ability off the bench if they are to seal the deal on their first-round series.

And with restricted free agency looming, Exum needs such a performance to prove his own worth moving forward as well.