Utah Jazz rookie Dante Exum was barely a blip on the radar for Australia at the FIBA World Cup. The fifth pick of the 2014 draft averaged just 2.7 points and 12 minutes per game while shooting 33 percent from the field in Spain, paltry numbers that were even inflated due to Australia resting its starters for a game that Exum scored 12 points and played 31 minutes. Some league followers took Exum’s basic FIBA no-show as further confirmation that he simply isn’t ready for NBA competition in 2014-2015. For those detractors, fellow countryman and Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut has some pointed advice.
In an interview with NBA Australia, Bogut – never afraid to speak his mind – said those criticizing Exum for his World Cup performance “need to pull their heads out.”
A lot of people out there that have started to get after [Exum]because he didn’t play much at the World Cup need to pull their heads out, the kid is 19, it’s his first major tournament, he’s had tremendous pressure on him over the last six months but I believe he’ll get there. He just needs to keep working at his game. I heard he’s a very hard worker so he’ll be fine. I just laugh at people in the media that are already writing this kid off after one tournament. Is he going to be the Rookie of the Year? Who knows. I’d love him to be the Rookie of the Year and you hope he does. But we cannot forget he was drafted on the fact that he was young and he has a chance to be even better. He’ll have some growing pains but I’ve heard he’s a high character guy so he won’t have any issues. There’s a lot of people trying to cut him down already which is highly disappointing.
Frankly, we’ve only noticed a small minority judging Exum for his FIBA play or lack thereof. Australia’s roster is littered with solid talents that aren’t just several years older than Exum, but have notched far more time playing against upper-level competition, too. The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Matthew Dellavedova and recent Los Angeles Clippers signee Joe Ingles were the Aussies’ backcourt stalwarts, for instance, and each have hordes of experience on Exum.
So that the Jazz rookie wasn’t his team’s focal point in Spain wasn’t surprising; what was is that Exum basically played the role of bench-warmer. Discounting the game that Australia lost intentionally in which he played big minutes, Exum was on the court for a less amount of time than every player on the Roos’ roster but journeyman Nathan Jawai.
That doesn’t exactly spell immediate NBA impact, but it certainly doesn’t cast doubt on Exum’s long-term future, either. As Bogut notes, Utah selected him with the future in mind, fully aware that Exum had only played against high school-level competition leading up to the draft. So just as his struggles in Las Vegas Summer League weren’t revelatory, neither was his impact for Australia.
Bogut might be overreacting a bit, but we laud him for defending Exum regardless. The rookie adjustment period is always taken for granted by fans; it’s nice to have an established NBA veteran get a leg-up on chastising that inevitability.
Do you agree with Bogut?
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