Argument against Dante Exum
The cases for calling the Dante Exum experiment quits and letting the young Australian guard walk are pretty cut and dry. First of all, he’s missed nearly two full seasons in just four years in the league. Some would call that injury-prone, others would argue that he’s just fallen on bad luck. I tend to lean more towards the latter, but no matter how you look at it, his career thus far has been a disappointment due to injuries.
He’s also shown a lot of red flags in regards to ever panning out or reaching the sky-high potential he presumably had as the former No. 5 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. His efficiency is worrisome and his ball-handling and decision making are downright scary at times. He’s never averaged above double-figure scoring and has shot under 30 percent from deep in the past two seasons. Those are certainly concerning signs.
Factor into that as well that Exum’s unproven yet still high potential could earn him significant offers from other teams, and all of a sudden retaining him becomes a pretty risky endeavor. The biggest argument to be made against Exum is that he hasn’t proven his worth so far, and if he ultimately doesn’t pan out, then the Jazz will be dropping a significant amount of dough on a bust.
Exum has a lot to work on, and apparently the Jazz are optimistic about what he can still turn out to be. However, between a shaky track record, poor injury history and a potentially larger than preferred price tag, there are no shortage of reasons why Utah should consider just letting the young Aussie walk in free agency.