Utah Jazz guard Dante Exum has suffered a partially torn patellar tendon in his right knee and is sidelined indefinitely.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 16, 2019
Dante Exum will likely be out for the season after suffering yet another injury. His lack of availability means that the Jazz probably cannot rely on him for consistent production. As Jazz fans, we want to see all of our players succeed, and it pains us to see Exum’s potential not realized, year after year, having him come back from injury playing tentatively, only to see him hurt again and again.
This news might be especially painful for those who sat through one of the Utah Jazz’s worst seasons ever (2013-14) to achieve a high draft pick, which many hoped would turn around the future of the franchise and be a cornerstone of the team for years to come. The reality is that, four and a half years after taking Dante with the 5th pick of the 2014 draft, fresh off giving him a large three year contract, we must let go of these expectations and lofty hopes. With all of the talk about the fan-athlete interaction these past few days, let’s do our best to separate our conceptions of Dante the basketball player and Dante the person, and do our best to support him through what is undoubtedly a very hard time for him.