Utah Jazz: Good news and bad news on the Dante Exum front

Amidst both good news and bad news, the injury status of Utah Jazz guard Dante Exum remains as shrouded in mystery as ever.

Times are pretty good right now in Utah Jazz land as the team is coming off a win over the LA Clippers that has them at 4-1 thus far on the season. Typically known for slow starts, it’s nice to see the Jazz getting out of the gates faster than what we’ve been accustomed to seeing out of them, even though it’s still a pretty limited sample size.

However, one lingering concern surrounding the Jazz is the ever unclear status of Dante Exum. Heading into the preseason, there were whispers of optimism that Exum could be ready to go by the regular season opener against Oklahoma City. That game has, of course, come and gone by over a week, though. And Exum still has yet to make an appearance.

It was expected that Dante would take some time to recover and get adjusted after undergoing knee surgery. It was expected that the Jazz would be cautious with him before bringing him back into action. However, it was also expected that Exum would actually be a contributor this season for a team with illustrious hopes for the 2019-20 campaign.

With that being the case, the lack of certainty around his health status or any sort of timeline for when he’ll be back in action is more than a little disconcerting. One can’t help but wonder if the recovery process is lingering unexpectedly, if there was further injury/setback behind the scenes or if this lengthy absence is ultimately going to have an unalterable mental effect on the young Jazz guard.

Only time will tell what he’ll ultimately be able to provide this season and throughout the remainder of his basketball career. But it’s inarguable that his future is shrouded in mystery for the time being.

Along those lines, there has been some recent news about Exum that Jazz fans should find intriguing – the first of which is good and the other of which isn’t as much.

First off, it was recently announced by Utah Jazz PR both on Wednesday and on Thursday that Dante Exum had been assigned to practice with the Salt Lake City Stars. On Wednesday he was later quickly recalled by the Jazz and it’s presumed that the same will happen this time around.

What’s good about this is that Exum’s assignment to the Stars suggests that he’s getting important reps in as a part of his rehab assignment, and that could very well mean that a return to action coming off the Jazz bench is near. We’ve seen the Jazz use their G-League team as a way to work players back into game speed before, and it wouldn’t be outrageous to see this be part of the process for Exum as they aim to help him adjust to five-on-five action.

Unfortunately, clarification of the news indicates that he may not be as close to a return as some originally presumed. As highlighted by the Salt Lake Tribune’s Andy Larsen, Exum was only a partial participant in the Stars practice as he still isn’t healthy enough to be a full participant.

That’s disappointing news for a Jazz team that would like to be able to work Exum back into their rotation as his excellent athleticism and renowned wing defense could both be crucial traits for Utah come playoff time. Both in bolstering the second unit and locking down opposing stars such as James Harden or Paul George, Exum’s contributions when at 100 percent could prove vital in the Jazz’s hopes at postseason success.

But, by the sound of things, we still have some time to wait until Exum will once again be a full participant in practice, then return to the Jazz, then be healthy and in shape enough to hit the court in meaningful 5-on-5 action.

Based on the iffy details that we know, there’s really no guessing when Exum’s return will finally come to fruition. It feels as if there have been baby steps in the right direction, but at the same time the end goal seems as far away as ever. Just as it’s been throughout the majority of Dante Exum’s career, his injury status remains as mysterious as ever.