It’s Happening: Dante Exum is listed as probable for Friday’s game

The former lottery pick Dante Exum won’t be in street clothes on Friday. He’s listed as probable in Utah’s big game against the Memphis Grizzlies according to Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune. While Mike Conley’s return to his old team is going to be the big news, it should provide the right amount of media coverage in order for Exum’s return to the court not to be the main story. That should allow the injury-plagued point guard to just play and not worry about expectations.

While Exum can be a lightning rod of people’s expectations not being met, he has never had the same injury twice and seems to have just had bad luck when it comes to acute injuries. The hope for Utah is that their patience with the point guard will pay off. Other draft picks in his draft class like Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins have finally started the promise of their talent pay off. They are also reminders that every player drafted in the top of that draft was INCREDIBLY young. It seems that Exum has been in the league since the beginning of time, but he is actually younger than the player the Jazz traded away to Memphis to get Conley, Grayson Allen, by two months.

We shouldn’t expect Dante Exum to be right back to his normal self for a couple of weeks, but Utah now has a long, capable defender who’s able to come off the bench and stifle opponents on the perimeter.