Dante Exum will not be joining the Australian National Team this summer, the Utah Jazz announced on Saturday. Australia will be competing in the Rio Olympics without their young guard.
Exum will instead spend the summer rehabilitating and continuing to recover from a torn ACL suffered last year while playing for his national team. The sophomore point guard missed the entirety of the 2015-16 season with the injury.
There are many questions regarding Exum considering he only has one year of playing experience in the NBA. He will be entering the third year of his career with very little known about him. The Aussie had his share of struggles in his rookie season but showed enough both before and during that year to suggest that he has a high ceiling as a player.
Exum’s length and athleticism fits well on a Utah team whose biggest need last year was a consistent point guard. There is no telling whether Exum is the right player to fill that hole, but in order to find out, the Jazz need him completely healthy entering the year to evaluate his talent and ceiling.
Exum had the following to say about not playing for his national team:
“At this stage the most important thing for me right now is to continue training,” said Exum. “It’s been great to be back on the court competing, and I’m really motivated to help the Jazz have a successful season this year. My support and best wishes will be with the Boomers this summer, and I look forward to future opportunities to represent my home country.”
The point guard will have plenty more opportunities to represent Australia in his career as the team is a fixture in almost every Olympics. For now, Dante Exum should focus on becoming fully healthy so that he can prove his place on the Jazz and in the NBA.
