Is Exum's shooting form broken?

[Reckless]

What bothers me about Exum shooting is not so much his low percentage it's that his form just looks terrible to begin with. He shoots this awkward looking set shot with a slow release, so the only time he shoots a perimeter shot is when he is spotting up. I haven't seen evidence that he can shoot off the dribble. Am I the only one really concerned about this?

[Winglish]

Am I the only one really concerned about this?

No. There 's good reason we don't see him driving and pulling up. Dante Exum is concerned about his shot.

[KDBG]

It did look ugly early on. But I noticed he had a much higher release towards the end of the season, which looked a lot cleaner. I'm not worried about his shot at all tbh. It's not a Ronnie Brewer situation. Also, I've seen him shoot off the dribble, and it looked fine.

[HawaiianJazzFan]

It's a little low and slow but other than that it doesn't look too terrible, I don't think it is something that can't be fixed with practice. I think part of it has to do with Exum's lack of strength.

[stitches]

The bigger problem in this case is that Dante actually thinks he can shoot. That's one of the most disturbing things I heard on the clean out day. He actually said that he's shown this season that he can shoot. He also has said numerous of times he doesn't think anything is broken with his shot and he thinks it's only a question of doing the reps. I really hope there is somebody in the coaching staff to talk some sense into him. I really hope he realizes that he should be making his name in the league by attacking the rim and not by shooting.

[sipclip]

The bigger problem in this case is that Dante actually thinks he can shoot. That's one of the most disturbing things I heard on the clean out day. He actually said that he's shown this season that he can shoot. He also has said numerous of times he doesn't think anything is broken with his shot and he thinks it's only a question of doing the reps. I really hope there is somebody in the coaching staff to talk some sense into him. I really hope he realizes that he should be making his name in the league by attacking the rim and not by shooting.

Hopefully no one on the staff thinks like you. Nothing is broken with Dante's shot and he should be focusing on getting up a ton of reps this offseason. He obviously needs to attack the basket a lot more but when you are a threat from the outside it makes it a hell of a lot easier to get into the paint.

[stitches]

The bigger problem in this case is that Dante actually thinks he can shoot. That's one of the most disturbing things I heard on the clean out day. He actually said that he's shown this season that he can shoot. He also has said numerous of times he doesn't think anything is broken with his shot and he thinks it's only a question of doing the reps. I really hope there is somebody in the coaching staff to talk some sense into him. I really hope he realizes that he should be making his name in the league by attacking the rim and not by shooting.

Hopefully no one on the staff thinks like you. Nothing is broken with Dante's shot and he should be focusing on getting up a ton of reps this offseason. He obviously needs to attack the basket a lot more but when you are a threat from the outside it makes it a hell of a lot easier to get into the paint.

I don't think it's broken and needs complete rebuild(although it might need some small adjustments) - that part was more of a response to the other posters in this thread... but I also don't think he can shoot. I think it's delusional of him if he really does think he's shown he can shoot in a year where he shot 31% on(for the most part) wide open spot up 3s for the season. I doubt he will ever be better than 35% shooter in the league(and if he gets to 35% I'd be ecstatic). I hope I am wrong...

Becoming a threat from outside indeed helps a lot for drives, but that comes with one big conditional - that you are actually a threat from deep. 31% shooters would never require much attention from 3 and defenders will sag off. Notice - my problem is not with him working on his shot, I rank that in the top 3 things he should be working on, my problem is with him thinking he's already shown he's a good shooter. One is conducive to improvements, the other one is conducive to content and complacency.

[SoCalJazzFan]

The bigger problem in this case is that Dante actually thinks he can shoot. That's one of the most disturbing things I heard on the clean out day. He actually said that he's shown this season that he can shoot. He also has said numerous of times he doesn't think anything is broken with his shot and he thinks it's only a question of doing the reps. I really hope there is somebody in the coaching staff to talk some sense into him. I really hope he realizes that he should be making his name in the league by attacking the rim and not by shooting.

Hopefully no one on the staff thinks like you. Nothing is broken with Dante's shot and he should be focusing on getting up a ton of reps this offseason. He obviously needs to attack the basket a lot more but when you are a threat from the outside it makes it a hell of a lot easier to get into the paint.

I don't think it's broken and needs complete rebuild(although it might need some small adjustments) - that part was more of a response to the other posters in this thread... but I also don't think he can shoot. I think it's delusional of him if he really does think he's shown he can shoot in a year where he shot 31% on(for the most part) wide open spot up 3s for the season. I doubt he will ever be better than 35% shooter in the league(and if he gets to 35% I'd be ecstatic). I hope I am wrong...

Becoming a threat from outside indeed helps a lot for drives, but that comes with one big conditional - that you are actually a threat from deep. 31% shooters would never require much attention from 3 and defenders will sag off. Notice - my problem is not with him working on his shot, I rank that in the top 3 things he should be working on, my problem is with him thinking he's already shown he's a good shooter. One is conducive to improvements, the other one is conducive to content and complacency.

I genuinely hope that I am wrong, but even though Exum has tremendous speed, I am not sure it is in his makeup to attack the rim with the physicality that it requires. Go back and look at his pre-draft vids. Exum goes for the layup, or a hybrid layup floater on the vast majority of his drives, avoiding contact and often ending up on the floor either due to minimal contact or his twisting acrobatics getting to the rim. He rarely played above the rim. Although it is only a single NBA season, I didn't see much to make me think that he is going to play any different in the NBA- if anything, I am concerned it will be worse as these aren't HS players that he is trying to avoid contact with, but very large, strong men.

Locke made a comment in one of his podcasts that the team just hasn't seen the playmaking ability of Exum even in practice when he has tried them.

If Exum isn't a PG, then he probably won't make an overly impressive SG as he hasn't been an impressive shooter and hasn't shown the desire to take it to the hole with force. He could be a better defender, but worse offensive player than Alec Burks.

Once again, I hope that I am wrong, but that is why I am high on Mudiay. His shot is totally broken, but shot about as well as Exum in China. His speed isn't quite as impressive as Exum, but he plays with speed and is absolutely not afraid of contact and plays above the rim. The team that drafts him and fixes his shot will have a very impressive PG.

[stitches]

I genuinely hope that I am wrong, but even though Exum has tremendous speed, I am not sure it is in his makeup to attack the rim with the physicality that it requires. Go back and look at his pre-draft vids. Exum goes for the layup, or a hybrid layup floater on the vast majority of his drives, avoiding contact and often ending up on the floor either due to minimal contact or his twisting acrobatics getting to the rim. He rarely played above the rim. Although it is only a single NBA season, I didn't see much to make me think that he is going to play any different in the NBA- if anything, I am concerned it will be worse as these aren't HS players that he is trying to avoid contact with, but very large, strong men.

Locke made a comment in one of his podcasts that the team just hasn't seen the playmaking ability of Exum even in practice when he has tried them.

If Exum isn't a PG, then he probably won't make an overly impressive SG as he hasn't been an impressive shooter and hasn't shown the desire to take it to the hole with force. He could be a better defender, but worse offensive player than Alec Burks.

Once again, I hope that I am wrong, but that is why I am high on Mudiay. His shot is totally broken, but shot about as well as Exum in China. His speed isn't quite as impressive as Exum, but he plays with speed and is absolutely not afraid of contact and plays above the rim. The team that drafts him and fixes his shot will have a very impressive PG.

Going to the rim requires being physical and finishing through contact, not playing above the rim necessarily. There are very few PGs that play above the rim. Dante doesn't have the hops to play above the rim consistently. He tried several times in summer league... like... tried dunking on people, but got hammered and thrown into the stands... he can't handle contact right now. I think he needs to become more physical(better strength and aggression) and develop better touch around the rim. I think he already has the quickness to shed defenders off, right now the problem is that once he gains advantage he defers and doesn't want to try to go to the basket.

[sipclip]

The bigger problem in this case is that Dante actually thinks he can shoot. That's one of the most disturbing things I heard on the clean out day. He actually said that he's shown this season that he can shoot. He also has said numerous of times he doesn't think anything is broken with his shot and he thinks it's only a question of doing the reps. I really hope there is somebody in the coaching staff to talk some sense into him. I really hope he realizes that he should be making his name in the league by attacking the rim and not by shooting.

Hopefully no one on the staff thinks like you. Nothing is broken with Dante's shot and he should be focusing on getting up a ton of reps this offseason. He obviously needs to attack the basket a lot more but when you are a threat from the outside it makes it a hell of a lot easier to get into the paint.

I don't think it's broken and needs complete rebuild(although it might need some small adjustments) - that part was more of a response to the other posters in this thread... but I also don't think he can shoot. I think it's delusional of him if he really does think he's shown he can shoot in a year where he shot 31% on(for the most part) wide open spot up 3s for the season. I doubt he will ever be better than 35% shooter in the league(and if he gets to 35% I'd be ecstatic). I hope I am wrong...

Becoming a threat from outside indeed helps a lot for drives, but that comes with one big conditional - that you are actually a threat from deep. 31% shooters would never require much attention from 3 and defenders will sag off. Notice - my problem is not with him working on his shot, I rank that in the top 3 things he should be working on, my problem is with him thinking he's already shown he's a good shooter. One is conducive to improvements, the other one is conducive to content and complacency.

I think you are jumping the gun when saying that you don't believe Exum will ever be better than a 35% from 3. When a player is 19 he is usually not even close to a finished product and as long as your jumper isn't broken it should not be difficult to become a 35+% 3pt shooter if the guy puts in the work. Look at a guy like DeMarre Carroll who didn't even shoot 3's his first 3 seasons and now he is a very good 3pt shooter. If Dante thinks he has already shown that he is a good shooter then I don't have a problem with that as long as he continues to put in the work and it seems like he is putting in the work. If he said he was a good shooter and then didn't work hard to get better then I would have a problem.

[MHSL82]

Hopefully no one on the staff thinks like you. Nothing is broken with Dante's shot and he should be focusing on getting up a ton of reps this offseason. He obviously needs to attack the basket a lot more but when you are a threat from the outside it makes it a hell of a lot easier to get into the paint.

I don't think it's broken and needs complete rebuild(although it might need some small adjustments) - that part was more of a response to the other posters in this thread... but I also don't think he can shoot. I think it's delusional of him if he really does think he's shown he can shoot in a year where he shot 31% on(for the most part) wide open spot up 3s for the season. I doubt he will ever be better than 35% shooter in the league(and if he gets to 35% I'd be ecstatic). I hope I am wrong...

Becoming a threat from outside indeed helps a lot for drives, but that comes with one big conditional - that you are actually a threat from deep. 31% shooters would never require much attention from 3 and defenders will sag off. Notice - my problem is not with him working on his shot, I rank that in the top 3 things he should be working on, my problem is with him thinking he's already shown he's a good shooter. One is conducive to improvements, the other one is conducive to content and complacency.

I think you are jumping the gun when saying that you don't believe Exum will ever be better than a 35% from 3. When a player is 19 he is usually not even close to a finished product and as long as your jumper isn't broken it should not be difficult to become a 35+% 3pt shooter if the guy puts in the work. Look at a guy like DeMarre Carroll who didn't even shoot 3's his first 3 seasons and now he is a very good 3pt shooter. If Dante thinks he has already shown that he is a good shooter then I don't have a problem with that as long as he continues to put in the work and it seems like he is putting in the work. If he said he was a good shooter and then didn't work hard to get better then I would have a problem.

Agree with the bold. I don't take much from player interviews in regard to these questions, though I do hope he doesn't get defensive or passive in learning. I give the benefit of the doubt until given reason to do otherwise.

[SoCalJazzFan]

Going to the rim requires being physical and finishing through contact, not playing above the rim necessarily. There are very few PGs that play above the rim. Dante doesn't have the hops to play above the rim consistently. He tried several times in summer league... like... tried dunking on people, but got hammered and thrown into the stands... he can't handle contact right now. I think he needs to become more physical(better strength and aggression) and develop better touch around the rim. I think he already has the quickness to shed defenders off, right now the problem is that once he gains advantage he defers and doesn't want to try to go to the basket.

There are very few six and a half feet PGs, which is why everyone is in love with Dante. He literally only has to jump about 27 inches to dunk it. I agree that he has the quickness to shed defenders, it is the attribute that I most like about him. However, he never, literally never, takes advantage of it. Will he in the future? I hope so, otherwise he will be a pedestrian PG at best, and at worst a below par SG.

[stitches]

Dante is back in Utah and according to reports working on his shooting form with coaches.
[tweet]https://twitter.com/andyblarsen/status/603625073765908480[/tweet]
Also:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/andyblarsen/status/603625377328701440[/tweet]
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[tweet]https://twitter.com/Tjonessltrib/status/603627331962437635[/tweet]

[KqWIN]

Dante is back in Utah and according to reports working on his shooting form with coaches.

And this is why you draft 19 year olds. Jones said he looked at least 10 lbs heavier too.

[zimpy27]

A third of the way through the offseason and he already caught up to Wiggins in size.


Can't be too worried about his shot, he's a hard worker and will put time into it.