can you link us to that article?

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-annual-nba-league-pass-rankings-part-1/

I think the problem is that he isn't a point guard: he's a pass first guy who plays the two spot, which is highly unconventional. Right now his scoring game and defense are nowhere near NBA level, which is a weird thing to get your head around.

A tall skinny wing who can't shoot, can't finish at the rim all that well, can't play off the ball, can't play defense, can't jump that high, but is long and lightning quick with the ball and can get by anyone despite having no left hand, and is a facilitator first and foremost.

It's hard for people to figure out exactly what he is because the convention says "this kid doesn't fit in a box that we have seen before".

We have no idea what he's going to be. He's super, super raw still and so much is going to hinge on what sort of development coaching he gets. Unfortunately there are no good vets on the Jazz who he can learn from, but at least Quin Snyder appears to be a decent coach.

I really can't think of what his future position, role, or best-case scenario is.

It's very hard to project.

I think it's playing two-guard alongside a PG who can shoot and doesn't need the ball in his hands all the time. Think of the role Adam Gibson plays alongside combo guards like Deleon, Ervin and Wilson, Dante needs the NBA version of Gibbo.

Like a Lance Stephenson playing alongside George Hill in last year's Pacers?

I honestly think the Jazz took him too high and we'll look back on this draft and say Exum should have been around the 10th pick.

I'm starting to worry that Evan Turner or Tyreke Evans are the best case scenarios for Exum, which breaks my heart to say. I really hope I'm wrong though. Big combo guards who need the ball but aren't very great at running an offense; can score off the bounce but can't shoot to save themselves. Those sorts of guys generally don't play big minutes on winning teams.

I think so much hinges on Exum getting a jumpshot, even more than what the critics are saying. All this talk about him playing PG kinda obscured the fact that he can't play off the ball at all, which was a really, really smart move by his agent ahead of the draft.

He reminds me of Gary Ervin when he doesn't have the ball in his hands: standing still on the 45 outside of the three point line, with his hands up and saying, "me, me, me", watching the ball the whole time and not moving.

If he can come back next year with a rebuilt shot, then his ceiling is busted wide open again.

He's still young as hell, so I don't think we'll even have a clue about what his NBA game is going to be like until year 3 at the earliest.

And I really can't think of an NBA player that I could compare his game to, past or present.

Like an Evan Turner who isn't selfish?

I honestly think he has a bit of a young Dwyane Wade about him. Not identical obviously, but the same horizontal athleticism to get wherever he wants.

Simmons criticises the Exum pick.
Exum starts playing well.
Simmons does a backflip and calls Exum the new Kobe. Exum goes for 1 point, 1 assist on 0-4 shooting.

Seriously though, many see Exum being in the NBA as an endorsement of the basketball development pathways in Australia, and no doubt the AIS/COE will use him as proof of the strength of their program. But you have to question it when you see his shaky left hand dribble and poor shooting mechanics.

That being said I still think there's a good chance of him becoming a great NBA player because of the other qualities he possesses.

I think the Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway comparison is decent.

Penny was 22 when he was drafted though. Give Dante 3 years and we'll see if the comparison still looks good. He's so young he could still become almost anything.

Additionally you would have to hope that Dante doesn't have the same injury issues that Penny had.

Livingston has always had a much better feel for the game though. Horrid shooting notwithstanding, he was more of a natural basketball player with a great feel for the game, whereas at this point Exum is a raw athletic blur without too much to offer on the basketball skills side of things outside of assist passing (he still struggles to make non-assist passes).

And I don't see the Penny or Wade comparisons at all. Those guys played above the rim and were always natural scorers and Dante just doesn't have the hops or fluidity to do that.

But, yeah, he'll probably be a completely different player in 3 years. Which is why so much hinges on what the Jazz are going to teach him, because he's just a blob of clay at this point. It could go any which way.

I think the Kobe comparison comes because you just see something in the way he moves that is reminiscent of rookie Kobe. Maybe also because he's young and coming from overseas. Not sure if there's much else.

Kobe shot 37% from three as a rookie and has topped that once in 18 years.

No doubt the pre-draft tactics were hugely effective in getting Exum the spot he got, but on his side are the facts that he is really young and no doubt has a good attitude. Can't imagine he's anything but coachable.

I couldn't picture Dante at collage.

I thought Dante and Ben were mates?

I'm mates with HO but I think he would be a dreadful lottery pick.

It's bill Simmons not Ben...
bill has referred to Ben as his Australian illegitimate love child though.

How many US colleges are putting out products with poor fundamentals? Difficult to coach players with flawed games. Professionals getting paid loads that can't make FTs.

I'd say more than the CoE, it's just a matter of people being people.

While your point is a good one Isaac, I know I'm not the only one who thinks players come out of the AIS/CoE without a high enough level of basic fundamentals.

Its an issue across all sports that coaches are so focused on winning rather than teaching the fundmentals.

paul, do people have the same criticism of US colleges though? How many NBA players can you name that have been criticised for weird shooting styles or poor defensive understandings or inability to hit uncontested free throws?

Not saying a particular school can't improve, but that they're up against something common to all schools.

Isn't AIS the premier development facility in the country? If they can't get it right, then what hope do our juniors really have?

the AIS is focused on the u17 and U19 Aus teams. They need to retain govt funding so emphasis is on winning. Look at players like Odigie /Creek etc- years at the COE and still are below average shooters. I hate to say this but i think the good kids are better off going to the US prep schools' More and more of our better kids are shunning the COE and heading OS

I don't really buy into the comparison with US colleges Isaac, as they aren't national development programs, they are basketball teams trying to win. Much better comparisons are other national junior programs.

The AIS/CoE is a decent program but could be better, and our country has to get much better at developing the 18-23 age group too.

I don't think the AIS/COE is significantly better or worse at developing shooters than the US system. If anything I would say we are possibly better than the US where as Paul said teams are totally focussed on results. There are examples of so many players in either system who are poor shooters. The best/worst example of their inability to teach shooting in a few years at the AIS happened many years ago. I have used it many times as an example that just maybe some people can't be taught. That player was Warrick Giddey. 2 or 3 years (?) at the AIS and he ended up with that shot.

On the other hand if I was to study how shooting technique is taught I would look to Serbia or Lithuania who seen to have a much higher percentage of fundamentally good shooters across all positions.

Also the fundamentals of footwork, using screens with and without the ball etc. We can get better at that.

If you look at the international stats we are a pretty good shooting nation, but we can definitely get better at that too.

The AIS/CoE are important with all this, but I think our local junior development programs like ITC need to be much much better, it's tough to fix some issues at the CoE if they are already ingrained.

So many of you have no idea of what happens at the AIS, how hard the kids are worked.

The problem is and has been for a long time, that NBA, NBL, BA CoE, NITP Programs, Colleges, Sate teams, Rep Clubs, etc take tall kids HOPING they teach them the fundamentals & shooting.

Exum was an outstanding Junior player here in Australia. How did he do his scoring? Most of it was from close range as he was so athletic. With speed, it was easy for him to dribble penetrate. Now he can't do that as easily, therefore he's now forced to shoot from midrange or 3P land. Problem is he'd never really had to do that. So doesn't have the consistency of those shots yet.

Will he ever? Time will tell. Personally I hope he does.

However, for too long he was too good for the kids he was up against here in Australia, so many judges were blinded to any deficiencies in his game. He's not the first and won't be the last - Someone pointed out Odigie/Creek quite rightly. There's another one at the AIS now, McVeigh. He's just too good athletically for the kids he comes up against at Nationals and he dominates. However, in SEABL he's at best a 3 man. He's athleticism is limited at this level. He too needs to develop a consistent shot of the dribble and a consistent 3P shot. For me Simmons is similar to Exum & McVeigh, great athlete, but quality of shooting lacking.

Also, don't be blinded by the hype generated by kids in the US high school system. What is the quality of the day in day out games like???