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Utah Jazz Rank: Dante Exum is the 8th man

The former 5th pick comes into the season with a lot prove.

By Tavan Parker
Brian Spurlock - USA Today

We continue ranking the Utah Jazz roster from least to most valuable, and the young guard from Australia comes in 8th. I hope Dante Exum makes us feel foolish for this by the end of the season.

Exum has had a rough go to begin his NBA career. A lack of experience and then a serious injury has made the NBA transition difficult.

I know Dwyane Wade owns the nickname Flash, but that would fit Dante as well. Flash because of his lightning speed, but also because that’s all we’ve seen so far from him: flashes.

Due to his ACL tear in the summer of 2015, Dante got off to a slow start last year and had to work his way back into form. For the season last year he averaged 6.2 points, 2.0 rebounds. and 1.7 assists in 18 minutes a game. That’s not quite what you are hoping for out of your #5 overall pick from 2014.

Still only 22 years old (and his birthday was just in July), there’s still a lot of time and room for growth. Having an entire summer to focus on his game should pay huge dividends this year. Hopefully those flashes he shows become a consistent part of how he plays. I’d love to revisit this next year and laugh at ranking him just the 8th most valuable player on the roster. For now he still needs to prove it at the NBA level.

Poll

Who is the 7th most valuable player on the Utah Jazz roster?

This poll is closed

  • 5%
    Derrick Favors
    (16 votes)
  • 4%
    Rodney Hood
    (14 votes)
  • 5%
    Ricky Rubio
    (15 votes)
  • 7%
    Joe Ingles
    (22 votes)
  • 47%
    Donovan Mitchell
    (142 votes)
  • 29%
    Joe Johnson
    (88 votes)
  • 1%
    Rudy Gobert
    (3 votes)
300 votes total Vote Now

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