The Dante Exum Thread

[platinuma1]

My question is:

Will exum ever be as good in D as Smart?

nope.

[Nyce_1]

This is the date that Oladipo started moving up. They were comparing him to Tony Allen.

http://nbadraft.net/extended-nba-mock-draft-40

But if you look at their next mock draft, almost 3 weeks later, Oladipo is projected as #8

http://nbadraft.net/extended-nba-mock-draft-50

... then 10 days after that, a week before the actual draft, he rises to #7

http://nbadraft.net/extended-nba-mock-draft-60

[basketballRob]

I believe that Gordon is about a year younger than Blake was when he was a freshman. So my point is that he had 2 more years to develop before he dominated his sophomore year with the Sooners.

[fklt]

Gordon isn't in the running just like Oladipo wasn't in the running for the 2 pick this time last year. No way Vonleh or Smart go ahead of Gordon. I think as we get closer to the draft the mock drafts will catch up.

I also share this belief. at the very least he'll be top5, if not better. although smart is quite a catch too, both will surprise people I think.

is the thread derailed or what?

[tiderulz]

Defense can be taught,

so then why are there so many players with bad defense?

[basketballRob]

Gordon isn't in the running just like Oladipo wasn't in the running for the 2 pick this time last year. No way Vonleh or Smart go ahead of Gordon. I think as we get closer to the draft the mock drafts will catch up.

I also share this belief. at the very least he'll be top5, if not better. although smart is quite a catch too, both will surprise people I think.

is the thread derailed or what?

I think Exum and Gordon are 4 and 5, granted that the first 3 hold form. So who is a better fit for us and does Exum try to force his way to Boston or L.A.? Boston could end up doing a similar trade that Philly did last year with Holiday and trade Rondo on draft day for another top 10 pick.

[platinuma1]

I believe that Gordon is about a year younger than Blake was when he was a freshman. So my point is that he had 2 more years to develop before he dominated his sophomore year with the Sooners.

"It could be argued that he’s young and he is trying to develop his shooting ability to become a more complete player, such that he is an effective shooter in his prime. I would counter that he should abandon all hope of ever becoming a useful long range shooter in the NBA, because his shot is irreparably broken. I cannot find any past prospect who shot < 50% at the free throw line as a college freshman and went on to become a successful NBA shooter. 40something FT%’s are reserved for the most woefully inept shooters of all time. Even Josh Smith shot 68.8% from the line as an NBA rookie. Dwight Howard shot 67.1% and Shaq shot 55.6% as a college freshman. Ben Wallace is the worst NBA free throw shooter of all time (min 500 attempts) and he barely had a lower freshman FT% than Gordon at 40.7%. The 2nd through 5th worst shooters: DeAndre Jordan (43.7%), Chris Dudley (46.7%), Eric Montross (61.2%), and Steven Hunter (70.7%) all sported better FT%’s than Gordon.

Given how historically inept Gordon’s shooting ability is, consider how insane it is that he attempts nearly 6 jump shots per game. If any of the aforementioned bricklayers ever attempted a jump shot they likely would have been benched, yet Gordon includes it as a regular part of his game.

Blake Griffin is often cited as his upside comparison, but Gordon’s propensity to launch bricks away from the hoop leaves his production miles below that of Griffin as a freshman. Note that SOS is kenpom.com’s average defensive rating of opponents:


Player Usage O-Rtg eFG% FT% AST% TOV% SOS
Blake 28.6 109.5 56.7 58.9% 16.6 17.4 98.6
Gordon 22.6 102.5 47.6 42.2% 10.4 12.3 101.8
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://deanondraft.com/2014/02/07/if-aa ... osh-smith/

edit, there should just be an aaron gordon thread since this is a exum thread...

[tiderulz]

Gordon isn't in the running just like Oladipo wasn't in the running for the 2 pick this time last year. No way Vonleh or Smart go ahead of Gordon. I think as we get closer to the draft the mock drafts will catch up.

I also share this belief. at the very least he'll be top5, if not better. although smart is quite a catch too, both will surprise people I think.

is the thread derailed or what?

I think Exum and Gordon are 4 and 5, granted that the first 3 hold form. So who is a better fit for us and does Exum try to force his way to Boston or L.A.? Boston could end up doing a similar trade that Philly did last year with Holiday and trade Rondo on draft day for another top 10 pick.

Vonleh will go before Gordon. Randle more than likely goes before him too. Gordon will go around 8-9. You are going to be severely disappointed if you are counting on him going top-5.

[basketballRob]

I believe that Gordon is about a year younger than Blake was when he was a freshman. So my point is that he had 2 more years to develop before he dominated his sophomore year with the Sooners.

"It could be argued that he’s young and he is trying to develop his shooting ability to become a more complete player, such that he is an effective shooter in his prime. I would counter that he should abandon all hope of ever becoming a useful long range shooter in the NBA, because his shot is irreparably broken. I cannot find any past prospect who shot < 50% at the free throw line as a college freshman and went on to become a successful NBA shooter. 40something FT%’s are reserved for the most woefully inept shooters of all time. Even Josh Smith shot 68.8% from the line as an NBA rookie. Dwight Howard shot 67.1% and Shaq shot 55.6% as a college freshman. Ben Wallace is the worst NBA free throw shooter of all time (min 500 attempts) and he barely had a lower freshman FT% than Gordon at 40.7%. The 2nd through 5th worst shooters: DeAndre Jordan (43.7%), Chris Dudley (46.7%), Eric Montross (61.2%), and Steven Hunter (70.7%) all sported better FT%’s than Gordon.

Given how historically inept Gordon’s shooting ability is, consider how insane it is that he attempts nearly 6 jump shots per game. If any of the aforementioned bricklayers ever attempted a jump shot they likely would have been benched, yet Gordon includes it as a regular part of his game.

Blake Griffin is often cited as his upside comparison, but Gordon’s propensity to launch bricks away from the hoop leaves his production miles below that of Griffin as a freshman. Note that SOS is kenpom.com’s average defensive rating of opponents:


Player Usage O-Rtg eFG% FT% AST% TOV% SOS
Blake 28.6 109.5 56.7 58.9% 16.6 17.4 98.6
Gordon 22.6 102.5 47.6 42.2% 10.4 12.3 101.8
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://deanondraft.com/2014/02/07/if-aa ... osh-smith/

edit, there should just be an aaron gordon thread since this is a exum thread...

Gordon also didn't have NBA coaching, plus at his age he could very well be a high school senior. He was the best player on the US under 19 team that included Parker and in his final game in college he grabbed 18 rebounds. Unlike the other prospects that disappeared. Maybe this is all a moot point and Exum will live up to the hype or maybe his ceiling is Shawn Livingston and Gordon's is Blake Griffin.

[platinuma1]

Gordon also didn't have NBA coaching, plus at his age he could very well be a high school senior. He was the best player on the US under 19 team that included Parker and in his final game in college he grabbed 18 rebounds. Unlike the other prospects that disappeared. Maybe this is all a moot point and Exum will live up to the hype or maybe his ceiling is Shawn Livingston and Gordon's is Blake Griffin.

You missed the point by a mile, but sure.

[dsg2021]

Great posts Skin, I love how Exum drew up the Ginobili comp, brilliant. I also liked that Tony Parker somewhat-comp mentioned. Two great players to get comps to.

I'm a Gordon fan, I wouldn't be surprised if the Magic have a tight pool of about 8 players for #4, and Gordon is one of them. I wanted to knock him on FTs and measurables but the combine helped and hes still growing a little I bet. He provides some real defense I think, and some serious athleticism to run with our team.

[fendilim]

It would be terrible if we drafted Gordon at 4. Reminds me of MKG so much, for some reason.

[Skin]

Defense can be taught,

so then why are there so many players with bad defense?

Why did you cut off my post? I explained it right after that comma.

Size and athleticism are God given gifts and if a player is lacking in those departments then no matter how hard they try or learn defensive concepts, they will be exposed. Desire, hustle, motor all factor into it as well and that's why you try to gauge that on a prospect. Some guys just don't care.

That said, lacking defense doesn't stop someone from NBA stardom. Nor does defense alone make you a star.

[thelead]

I do like Exum but I hope Parker or Embiid falls to us. Wiggins, Exum and Smart are a coin flip for me.

[Blue_and_Whte]

Defense can be taught,

so then why are there so many players with bad defense?

Why did you cut off my post? I explained it right after that comma.

Size and athleticism are God given gifts and if a player is lacking in those departments then no matter how hard they try or learn defensive concepts, they will be exposed. Desire, hustle, motor all factor into it as well and that's why you try to gauge that on a prospect. Some guys just don't care.

That said, lacking defense doesn't stop someone from NBA stardom. Nor does defense alone make you a star.

Skin do you plan on making a thread for Exum similar to your giant "My case for Trey Burke" thread so I have something to revisit and smh at next offseason? Did I miss it? If so,id like to bookmark that one too.

[basketballRob]

After thinking about it more, I'm not sure of any of them after the first 3. Gordon is short and can't shoot. O'Quinn is longer and bigger than Vonleh, Exum reminds me too much of Livingston, and Randle maybe solid but not a superstar. The other poster might be right, Smart could be the safest pick. He's going to meet with Magic tomorrow.

[OrlandO]

so then why are there so many players with bad defense?

Why did you cut off my post? I explained it right after that comma.

Size and athleticism are God given gifts and if a player is lacking in those departments then no matter how hard they try or learn defensive concepts, they will be exposed. Desire, hustle, motor all factor into it as well and that's why you try to gauge that on a prospect. Some guys just don't care.

That said, lacking defense doesn't stop someone from NBA stardom. Nor does defense alone make you a star.

Skin do you plan on making a thread for Exum similar to your giant "My case for Trey Burke" thread so I have something to revisit and smh at next offseason? Did I miss it? If so,id like to bookmark that one too.

skin's analysis is in the first post under one of the spoiler tags

[Melvinlocker]

In terms of frame, sure. Kobe had elite explosiveness at that age, of course.

I also believe kobe has a 6'11" wingspan and 8'9" reach, versus Exum's 6'9.5" & 8'7", respectively.

Where did you find those Kobe measurements? I've been trying to find some for Kobe, MJ and Drexler for years.

Eh i just searched for "kobe bryant wingspan", so that data is probably as unreliable as it gets (the other rumoured wingspan for him is 6'8.5"). My apologies.

There's a good chance those measurements were never taken, let alone MJ/Glide's.

You're good man.

It is hard to find any reliable information outside of the draftexpress database.

[InFlames]

From deanondraft.com

MYTH: Dante Exum is not a point guard
I have heard numerous people paid by ESPN to discuss the draft make this statement, and it is 100% false. Because Exum has the size to play the wing, he has been labeled as a combo guard. Because he has been labeled as a combo guard, it seems to have confused people into assuming he is not a pure PG. This is wrong.

In Exum’s combine interview he stated himself that he is a point guard who plays with the objective of penetrating to draw the help defense and then find his open teammate. True to his word, this is how he played in his FIBA performance vs. Spain. In a game where he finished with 33 points and 4 assists, his ability to create for his teammates made the largest impression on me.

Tyler Ennis is often lauded for his stellar assist to turnover ratio at Syracuse (6.2 assists vs 1.9 turnovers per 40). But in the FIBA u19 games when he was asked to carry the offense for Canada, he finished with just 25 assists and 24 turnovers in 9 games. Exum tallied 34 assists and 21 turnovers in a similar role for Australia, in spite of playing 13 fewer total minutes than Ennis.

Dante Exum is a point guard through and through. Let’s not lose sight of that just because he has the size to defend NBA SFs.

[Orlwillbeback]

holy ****, no one should ever compare griffin to gordon. ever.