Is he physically strong enough to get decent minutes in the NBA from the get go? I cannot think of one team he'd start for to be honest.

I am the same as Jake.. I don;t reckon he will start in the next season or even 2... his frame is under developed.

Kevin Durant disagrees.

Also Michael Carter Williams, who has an almost identical build is having a pretty damn strong impact early on (17.3ppg)

There is no doubt that he'll start and succeed, even at his current build. The Draft is late June for goodness sake -- he has plenty of time to further build the frame.

Seriously, how many people have access to this guy? We won't really know his progress until video-taped workouts and combines come along. And that's in several months. The guy is a real enigma and it's kinda frustrating.

The CBS article talks about him wanting to start, but I didn't see that mentioned in their listed quotes. Did he say it elsewhere? Nothing wrong with wanting minutes and a chance to get more if he does well.

When he says he doesn't want to be stuck behind Chris Paul, I don't think he means that it denies him a starting spot, but more because it would be hard to challenge for minutes and definitely hamstring starting aspirations in future seasons.

Were he behind someone like Nelson (Magic) or Burke (Jazz), he may not start, but at least he could press for a bigger role.

Statsheet Stuffer your post sums it up. Well said.

Would love him to get drafted to the Lakers.....he'd be a great fit and learn from the best as in the NBA he could eventually play as a scoring 2 guard.

Right now I'd say the following prospects will be taken above him:

Embiid
Parker
Wiggins
Smart
Randle

After that it could get interesting. Sacramento pick at 6 and thats a likely destination. Lakers pick 7 also likely. At this stage anyone after that would be unlikely to pass regardless of team needs etc.

So much is going to be reliant on how his pre-draft workouts go.

I'd love being stuck behind Chris Paul. Who better to learn off? Players get injured, he'll have an opportunity to step up at some point.

Totally agree with AK's post. Could be a strong possibility that he'll get drafted by the Lakers. Not so sure if that team and the situation it is in atm would be the best place for Dante's development though.

If he is going to be a star bring in a great organisation is the key....nothing like getting drafted by SAC and being in a poor enviroment with a poor culture.

I would think Lakers would be perfect... Team of veteran, often injured guards. Plenty of learning. Plenty of opportunity.

Not to mention the increased scrutiny being in a big market.

The fact is at this point no one really knows. We haven't seen him play against a consistently high quality opposition for a sustained amount of time, ever.

He could be a starting calibre combo guard on a poor team in his first year or he could be an end of the bench guy. I don't see how anyone could say for sure either way with the competition he's faced.

From the small glimpses I have seen of him though I don't see a PG at all. He's a 2. Is someone seeing something I'm not? Is peddling him at the 1 a way to hide his lack of shot and strength?

I see him as a SG who can play some PG. I think he will develop into a Dwyane Wade type player. .

Evan Turner is a pretty good comparison for my money: no jump shot but good handles and similar build. Both guys obviously still young though./

What's the deal, Mick? "The fact is at this point no one really knows." But now you're making a comparison.

Has Turner lost 10-15 kgs overnight? Turner actually bullies his way into the paint on drives; Exum won't do that.

The numbers say Turner attempts 6.1 drives per game and 5.7 pull-up jumpers (off the bounce) per game. If Exum turns out to be what DraftExpress/reputation indicates, I would expect the ratio to be more like 70:30 (as opposed to Turner's 52:48) because Exum doesn't shoot on-the-move very well at all.

Maybe to do with his lack of physical conditioning -- core strength, stamina, years on the practice court. Whereas Turner is a fit and strong dude who is battle-hardened and has all those things.

From the data on offer, I expect Exum to be more of a (obviously) Carter-Williams or Monta Ellis type offensively. Carter-Williams' drive to pull up ratio is 70:30, and Ellis' is 63:37.

Success rates are below:

Pull-up jumpshots
Carter-Williams: 36% EFG
Ellis: 40% EFG

Catch and shoot jumpshots
Carter-Williams: 44% EFG
Ellis: 50% EFG

The strongest comparison league-wide in so many facets is Carter-Williams.

I expect (actually, no, just hope) Exum to be a better catch and shoot guy than those two; a better spot-up shooter at least.

Exum also really reminds me of Batum.

Extremely similar shooting mechanics.

Very similar build.

Obviously, Batum is a little taller and plays the SF spot usually.

But Exum could easily have the same impact -- as a player who can do it all (score, defend, pass and rebound)

@SS: No one really knows but we can share guesses, projections and comparisons on the limited flashes we've seen of him.

My point was there are no reliable datasets on him at this point so all we have is the eye test to go on from a very limited sample size, so all we can do is make guesses. I think it is a bit more obvious with the other top 5 guys what their NBA careers will play out like, because we've seen them face steady competition every week under the spotlight.

The knock on Evan Turner coming into the league was his lack of strength (remember he is now 25, Exum is what 19?) and the fact that for an attacking guard of his size, his athleticism was only average (for the NBA..obviously off the charts for anyone else). Similar to Exum.

I wouldnt say Exum lacks for athleticism as such, his movement is freaky. The defenders on two USA teams simply werent able to keep in front of him.

He is quick and fast, no doubt, with or without the ball.

I should have said his vertical / ability to finish above the rim isn't amazing for a top 5 pick of his size and position.

But again, I have barely seen the kid play.

Yeah, that's prob true, he has the ability to jump through tiny gaps and corkscrew his body but he isnt likely to jump over a centre.

The again, his dad had some troubles elevating to dunk and, you know, block dunks.

Mick, Turner has only gained 4-5 kilos since the draft and even then, was 7-8 kilos heavier than present-day Dante.

But it is all relative to position, and I do remember Turner's strength being a small concern for coaches and GM's.

But yeah, I think a crossbreed of Carter-Williams/Ellis pretty much sums up Exum's offensive game (from what it looks like).

Defensively, hopefully he becomes a John Wall.