NBA scout: Dante Exum 'not ready for the NBA' yet
Utah Jazz fans expecting fourth overall pick Dante Exum to step in and have a major impact from day one may need to pump their brakes to some degree.
With the Australian youngster posting modest numbers in limited action so far at the FIBA World Cup, one NBA scout told The Sporting News that the 19-year-old is not yet ready for the world's top stage. He had some high praise for one area of Exum's offensive game, however:
He’s not ready for the NBA, that is for sure. But a lot of guys are not ready for the NBA and they have got to learn on the fly. He is no different. But he is not going to jump into the league and all of a sudden average 20 points a game. There’s just no way.
...
He is really, really good in the pick-and-roll. He knows how to take the pick and emerge with his head up and he sees the whole floor. He will get better with his decision-making as time goes on and he gets experience, but that ability to come off the pick like that, you know being able to see and process everything immediately with your head up, that is something you can’t teach.
It should be no surprise, really, that a 19-year-old coming from Australia isn't quite NBA-ready. This is going to be a learning process with a major jump in quality of competition and speed of play. But the Jazz drafted Exum for the future, and they'll surely preach patience as he figures out the North American game.
Through five games at the World Cup, Exum is averaging just 3.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in 13 minutes, while shooting 35.7 percent from the floor. This comes after he averaged 7.2 points and 2.8 assists in summer league, shooting just 30.8 percent.
The numbers shouldn't worry Jazz fans. Patience will be paramount with Exum, and there remains a good deal of evidence that he's worth the wait.