Utah Jazz rank ’18-19: Ex gon’ give it to ya at No. 7

Could 2018-19 finally be the breakout season Utah Jazz fans have been waiting for from former lottery pick Dante Exum?

When the Utah Jazz signed combo guard Dante Exum to a three-year, $33 million deal this summer, some people slammed the deal, calling it a massive overpay. Given the fact that he’s played in less than half of his team’s games over four years and has yet to find his footing as a player, it’s not hard to understand why.

But the Jazz still see gold in the former No. 5 overall pick (and No. 7 in our Jazz player rankings for 2018).  And, for his part, Exum continues to show all the things that got people excited back in 2014. Even during an abbreviated preseason run.

At first glance, Exum’s basic preseason numbers for the Jazz don’t really jump out at you. The 23-year-old put up a meager six points in 20 minutes per game over three exhibition contests. That said, a deeper dive shows that Exum may finally be coming into his own after battling injuries for the last three years.

Per 36 minutes, Exum averaged 11 points and nearly nine assists per game. He attacked the hoop without fear and, in doing so, generated offense for himself and others to great effect. His length and lateral quickness continued to shine on defense as well. When he was on the floor, the Jazz held opponents to just 80.2 points per 100 possessions.

Obviously, the latter number is an exhibition mark inflated by a small sample size and inferior opponents, but Exum was nonetheless one of the most impactful defenders on what is arguably the best defensive team in the Association. I, for one, expect that to be the case throughout the regular season as well.

When he’s focused, he plays like an elite-level perimeter defender. Such was the case during the 2018 NBA Playoffs when he locked-up James Harden on multiple trips down the floor. Only the officials could stop him.

https://twitter.com/espn/status/993318022701035521

As ever, the biggest things for Exum will be staying healthy and getting court time; things that haven’t happened consistently dating back to his pre-draft process.

If he can take care of the former, the latter shouldn’t be a problem. Exum is locked-in as the team’s back-up point guard and should also see significant run as a part of three-guard sets, which Jazz coach Quin Snyder will look to employ with greater frequency this season.

Exum can help himself by becoming a better finisher and 3-point shooter as well.  Should he show progression there, he’ll be a hard player to leave sitting on the bench.

So now for the (33) million-dollar question — will he be able to do it? Is Ex gon’ give to us in year five? I tend to think he will, at long last, but he needs to stay on the court and continue his evolution as a player.