Dante Exum
I am absolutely thrilled to see Dante Exum hit the floor once again this year, but it’s also a bit of a cautious optimism. Exum’s career certainly hasn’t gone as he might have hoped as he’s been set back by injury after injury.
Still, in his limited regular season action and especially in an incredible Game 2 performance in the second round of the playoffs against the Houston Rockets, he showed just what a force he can be. If he remains healthy, as he finds his groove and establishes a role on this Jazz team, I expect him to take major strides throughout the season, growing into a dominant force for the Utah bench.
I recently wrote about how the Jazz don’t necessarily need Exum in order to be a good team. But if they hope to be an exceptional team, they’ll need him to come up big in 2018-19.
There is a lot of mystery and intrigue surrounding Dante next season, as the level to which he breaks out could very well determine just how high the Jazz ascend. His position as the team’s undeniable “Ex”-Factor makes him one of the players I’m most excited to see in action this upcoming season.