3 Former players that have excelled since leaving the Utah Jazz
By Chad Porto
![Jan 1, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz guard Kris Dunn (11) drives around Dallas Jan 1, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz guard Kris Dunn (11) drives around Dallas](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4023,h_2262,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/123/01hv7vf9rszsbdwaqmy1.jpg)
Dante Exum - Dallas Mavericks
By now, everyone knows about how Dante Exum's reemergence in the NBA. A former lottery pick for the Utah Jazz in 2014, the Australian native failed to find success in the NBA.
He shot just 35% from the floor as a rookie, and 31% from three. He averaged just 4.8 points, 2.4 assists, and 1.6 rebounds per game. It was a bad rookie season for Exum. His sophomore season would be worse as he'd miss all of it due to a knee injury.
He'd struggle in the NBA until the 2019-2020 season when he would be traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in what amounted to a contract dump. He'd play parts of two seasons with them before going overseas. While overseas playing pro ball, he developed his jumper and returned to the NBA this past season.
Signing with the Dallas Mavericks, Exum has been stellar. He's shooting 53.5% from the floor, 49.1% from three, and has per-game stats of 7.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists, while having one of the best defensive seasons of his career.
While he's not shooting more in Dallas than he did in Utah, he is more effective with his shot and in turn has become one of the Mavericks' best rotation guys, having played in 54 games this year, starting 16 of them.