The Dante Exum Thread

[Blue_and_Whte]

One is proven, ready to lead, ready defensively, and scoring wise now, but the other is somewhat still improving but his ceiling his much, much higher.

Either way, if he does well in workouts, I'd take the risk just like high-school Dwight vs. NCAA champion Okafor.

why is it that Smart is only a sophomore in college, just 20, but everyone seems to think that he cant get better but other players can?

Because hes not 6'6, and since Penny was 6'6 that means Exum is the next Penny! Standard logic around here. I think Smart is going to be the better player. I hold out hope that im wrong because I do want a Penny clone but watching school hs kids doesnt sell me.

[Nyce_1]

Great, thorough read.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1939 ... sie-phenom

good read. A little too much BS hype (mix of rose, wall, westbrook, with a ray allen shot, lol) but good insight into who he is. Kid seems to have a great personality and I could see him as one of the young faces of the league. If his game is as good and true as what's being described, watch out.

One thing for sure, his agent is doing a great job of keeping up the hype. And the fact he wants to be here, ORLANDO, seems like a match made in heaven.

[Blues]

Let me be the first to call him X-Man

[Last Guardian]

You can say the same things about Ricky Rubio. While Rubio is a nice player, I don't think many believe he can be a franchise player as people around here are already hyping Exum to be.

ricky rubio is not 6'6, and he also had his career set back by a serious injury. bad example

And this is a prime example of why people are enamored with this kid. "Hes 6'6"! All the stuff you see him do on the court is against inferior talent. I'll say it, I dont think Henny picks him. I think hes hyped up because everyone wants to find the next MCW. I dont see Elite player based on what little ive seen.

He is blazing fast with great vision and willingness to pass the ball...and he's 6'6!

[Blues]

Rubio is not a scoring PG, though. Rubio is limited offensively. Plus, Rubio had an injury setback

[tiderulz]

ricky rubio is not 6'6, and he also had his career set back by a serious injury. bad example

And this is a prime example of why people are enamored with this kid. "Hes 6'6"! All the stuff you see him do on the court is against inferior talent. I'll say it, I dont think Henny picks him. I think hes hyped up because everyone wants to find the next MCW. I dont see Elite player based on what little ive seen.

He is blazing fast with great vision and willingness to pass the ball...and he's 6'6!

he cr@p% lightning and "has the potential" to be a great defender....and he's 6'6!

[MellowRose]

He is not explosive? He looks really damm fast and quick to me. He is not going to jump like Vince Carter but that doesn't bother me.

Sorry, I meant vertically. Yea, he's long and extremely quick, but he's not someone who can get up and dunk. I'm assuming it won't be a problem, though, but it's just something that bothers me personally.

First, just because he didnt do well on the combine doesnt mean he cant jump high.

Second, max vert is overrated and is rarely used during games, I would say no step vert and standing reach are a lot more relevant during games.

To calm you down here are some max vert numbers from known dunkers/dunk contest winners:

Russel Westbrook-36.5
Dwight- 35.5
Amare-35.5
Griffin-35.5
J.R Smith-35.5
Wade- 35
Exum-34.5
Drummond-33.5
Javale Mcgee- 32.5

Yea, I don't take those vert numbers very seriously. Was saying I'm wary of his dunking ability purely based on videos. Not on any measurements.

[BaunceyChillups]

watch all the videos, exums court vision and passing is insanely good. i would say his shooting mechanics need work

You can say the same things about Ricky Rubio. While Rubio is a nice player, I don't think many believe he can be a franchise player as people around here are already hyping Exum to be.

Ricky Rubio is perhaps the worst finisher in the NBA while Exum is a excellent at-the-rim and can finish through contact.

Your paucity of basic knowledge about these players is hilarious.

[yoyojw17]

He is not explosive? He looks really damm fast and quick to me. He is not going to jump like Vince Carter but that doesn't bother me.

Sorry, I meant vertically. Yea, he's long and extremely quick, but he's not someone who can get up and dunk. I'm assuming it won't be a problem, though, but it's just something that bothers me personally.

First, just because he didnt do well on the combine doesnt mean he cant jump high.

Second, max vert is overrated and is rarely used during games, I would say no step vert and standing reach are a lot more relevant during games.

To calm you down here are some max vert numbers from known dunkers/dunk contest winners:

Russel Westbrook-36.5
Dwight- 35.5
Amare-35.5
Griffin-35.5
J.R Smith-35.5
Wade- 35
Exum-34.5
Drummond-33.5
Javale Mcgee- 32.5

Hope he was holding back and post a 40 in vert and a 2.95 sec sprint in private workouts !!

but for real though.... I'd be excited if we drafted him. and as others have stated... if we can trade up to the 7th/8th spot and pick up whichever pf fruit falls vonleh/randle/gordon.... i would come out of this draft smiling from ear to ear. And yes.... I really really do like gordon as well. Might not be an all out shot blocker but he makes it happen on the defensive end. with above average defender at the pg, sg and pf positions.... and average defenders at sf and c (yes... at his position Vuc is a decent defender....until someone penetrates into the lane and makes him look like a deer caught in the headlights.... poor guy lol) But gordon is someone who we will not have to feed the ball too.... he will make his own opportunities while making some for those around him as well. And if he ever gets a jumpshot.....or even starts making free throw (smh).... watch out world. hahah

Exum
Oladipo
Harris
Gordon
Vuc

that would be an exciting team to watch all season long. They will be able compete offensively, defensively and of course athletically with most teams in the NBA.

[CraZyPraiZ]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-affheP3v4[/youtube]



Yeah....same style of body structure does not equal same style player.

Why'd you have to put this up here? Greatest Magician of all time IMO. If not for injuries one of the best ever. Penny was simply ferocious in all aspects of his game.

[CourtsideTV]

dont think exum will be as good as penny i just like the comparison aspect of them being same height. even ifhe's 60% of penny that is a very good player

[Eltonator]

Sorry, I meant vertically. Yea, he's long and extremely quick, but he's not someone who can get up and dunk. I'm assuming it won't be a problem, though, but it's just something that bothers me personally.

First, just because he didnt do well on the combine doesnt mean he cant jump high.

Second, max vert is overrated and is rarely used during games, I would say no step vert and standing reach are a lot more relevant during games.

To calm you down here are some max vert numbers from known dunkers/dunk contest winners:

Russel Westbrook-36.5
Dwight- 35.5
Amare-35.5
Griffin-35.5
J.R Smith-35.5
Wade- 35
Exum-34.5
Drummond-33.5
Javale Mcgee- 32.5

Yea, I don't take those vert numbers very seriously. Was saying I'm wary of his dunking ability purely based on videos. Not on any measurements.

vert doesnt mean he wont be a good dunker. heck mcdermott had a higher vert than exum does that mean he's going tobe the next gerald green? take those tests by a grain of salt because some of the best in game dunkers didnt really have freak vert numbers.

P.S. exum has like a 6'10 wing span add that with his vert he can dunk the ball easily.

[tiderulz]

^^why wasnt he doing it against high schoolers then?

[InFlames]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-affheP3v4[/youtube]



Yeah....same style of body structure does not equal same style player.

Penny was a phenom. I will forever be salty that we were robbed of seeing his prime.

[Smooth_E]

Video discussing draft prospects and the lottery, Exum convo

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua0LSPNr1bo[/youtube]

What's interesting to me in this video is that while he seems to like Exum, at various points through the course of the video he notes that his observations from his week in Australia were that:

(a) he's not a good shooter,
(b) the competition he's played against has been awful (notes that the big men are usually about 6'6"),
(c) that in Australia they call him Ante Exum, because he has no "D."

Didn't watch video, but is this 4real? Guess I'm happy we have Oladipo then...scratch that, Smart here we come?

Henny is going to have a damn difficult decision to make in about a month. Chop Chop, Henny.

Honestly, the way it was typed out (by previous comments on this particular mention), made it seem a lot worse. The video wasn't bad at all, and this was during his visit in December. Sheesh...

[MagicFan101]

watch all the videos, exums court vision and passing is insanely good. i would say his shooting mechanics need work

You can say the same things about Ricky Rubio. While Rubio is a nice player, I don't think many believe he can be a franchise player as people around here are already hyping Exum to be.

Ricky Rubio is perhaps the worst finisher in the NBA while Exum is a excellent at-the-rim and can finish through contact.

Your paucity of basic knowledge about these players is hilarious.

How can you call this basic knowledge? No one has seen Exum finish against a strong defender because he has never faced a strong defender!

Everyone wants to believe the next great thing is out there and that their team is set to grab it. The only thing that separates Exum from other draft prospects at this stage is his lack of exposure which greatly limits data fans have to criticize him with respect to. Just because you haven't seen him he gets the benefit of the doubt on being great? lol, your failing grip on reality is hilarious.

[MagicFan101]

watch all the videos, exums court vision and passing is insanely good. i would say his shooting mechanics need work

You can say the same things about Ricky Rubio. While Rubio is a nice player, I don't think many believe he can be a franchise player as people around here are already hyping Exum to be.

ricky rubio is not 6'6, and he also had his career set back by a serious injury. bad example

False. This is the perfect example as a response to the specifics of your first argument.

Rubio was hyped for having good size at 6'4 as well as his passing and court vision but everyone knew he had work to do as a shooter. He has done well when healthy, but doesn't have the look of a guy who will ever be a franchise talent.

So Rubio has shown that these skills alone are clearly not enough to make a superstar. Hence we must look to other things which just aren't there in these videos thanks to a lack of strong compeition. He has so much space around him as no one has the athleticism to get in his face and force him to make a move. Any half defent basketball athlete would take advantage of those kids just as easily as he is doing. We just don't know about him yet.

[Smooth_E]

You can say the same things about Ricky Rubio. While Rubio is a nice player, I don't think many believe he can be a franchise player as people around here are already hyping Exum to be.

ricky rubio is not 6'6, and he also had his career set back by a serious injury. bad example

False. This is the perfect example as a response to the specifics of your first argument.

Rubio was hyped for having good size at 6'4 as well as his passing and court vision but everyone knew he had work to do as a shooter. He has done well when healthy, but doesn't have the look of a guy who will ever be a franchise talent.

So Rubio has shown that these skills alone are clearly not enough to make a superstar. Hence we must look to other things which just aren't there in these videos thanks to a lack of strong compeition. He has so much space around him as no one has the athleticism to get in his face and force him to make a move. Any half defent basketball athlete would take advantage of those kids just as easily as he is doing. We just don't know about him yet.

Were you once a teacher at Edgewater Highschool? Honest question.

[MellowRose]

^^why wasnt he doing it against high schoolers then?

This is what worries me. We really haven't seen Exum' full offensive arsenal, and I'm afraid we're going to find out his flaws a little too late if we draft him. For all of the other top prospects, we know what they're offensive flaws are, but we are not privy to Exum's.

Can he consistently take contact for 82 games against 6-11, 290 lb guys in the paint beating the **** out of him? Will he start to become afraid and stop attacking and just start shooting jump shots? Does he have that fighter mentality that Smart, Westbrook, and Rose do when going into the paint? How is his mental fortitude...is he like Wiggins?

He just hasn't gone up against guys like Howard, Noah, Jordan, Ibaka, Taj, Hibbert, Cousins, and this should be a legitimate concern.

How will he fare against legit shot blockers?

[MagicFan101]

Were you once a teacher at Edgewater Highschool? Honest question.

No. What makes you ask that?