Once again ppl under estimating the NBL.

I don't think Dante would dominate anywhere. He doesn't have that gene.

He's a pass-first PG, almost to a fault.

He is still very young though. He wouldn't dominate the NBL. I'd say 16ppg with 5 and 4.

Would he dominate NBL right now? No, I don't think so. In a year or two, maybe. I dont really see him becoming a top NBA player, at best a decent role player. He seems to lack killer instinct, and I dont think that is an age thing, it is just his disposition.

He's the youngest rookie in his class and had never played basketball at a high standard until he jumped straight into the NBA. I think he's doing alright...

"I don't really see him becoming a top NBA player, at best a decent role player. He seems to lack killer instinct, and I don't think that is an age thing, it is just his disposition."

Unfortunately I agree with all of this. You don't get efficient scoring opportunities unless you are super aggressive in that league. It's going to be the chief defining factor of his career.

He will be a solid player I am sure. And probably one of the mainstays of the Boomers program. But I don't see him becoming the "Go - to" guy on the Boomers, or in the NBA. You can see those guys usually pretty quick. They have an attitude, a swagger, a disposition. Ben Simmons has it, Dante Exum does not. People who become superstars do not play conservatively and fearfully. They go out there and try to push things and see what they can get away with and how far they can push their boundaries. Dante might become an integral part of a team, but at best I see him being 3rd or 4th string, not the main guy. He is doing okay, he is not embarassing himself in the NBA, and he is showing promise. But as an NBA exec, I don't think I would have used a top 10-20 pick on him.

Does anyone think it's dependent on coaching around him that will determine how great a player he will become?

It might be. If a coach can work on his personality/identity as much as his game, then yeah, it could be.

Heard him speak on SEN the other day, he is tired and has had a big first season in the NBA. He is very level headed and understands the work he has in front of him to improve and increase his body size. He is well aware of what he needs to do to improve and compete physically against NBA guards.

The kid has started quite a few games in his rookie season and is wrapped to have the experienced Joe Ingles beside him at the Jazz.

Far too early to be making some of these opiniated predictions about Dante, other than to say he still has a very strong will and a huge upside.

Best is well and truly still to come!

opinionated...

I don't think he is looking to go Schwarzenegger, he just needs to compete better in the bumps and jumping contests.

Building up an extra small percentage of muscle to give him an advantage and more protection from injury is what he was saying he needs to do.

This is normal for rookies, don't worry anon^, he isn't going to be our next Nathan Jawai!

That was me, buggered up my log-on temporarily...

Mass only helps so much though. Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are twigs and get to the rim and finish through contact just fine. Mass is overrated in basketball: i'd rather have an aggressive slight guy than a passive bloke chiselled out of stone.

Aggressive mentality/positioning/angles/finishing ability are so much more important. You can "outmuscle" a guy twice your size with positioning and an aggressive mindset.

The key to being a successful point guard in the NBA is being ELITE at either finishing at the rim or shooting threes. If you can't do either, you really hurt your team. Right now Dante can't do either of those things.

He really needs to improve his ballhandling to create separation to match his freakish speed. He's not an elite leaper, and right now his handles can't keep up with his footspeed & athleticism so he never leverages it and may as well be slow and unathletic for all the difference it makes (ie. what I call 'typical Australian wing player syndrome').

The playmaking aspect is overrated especially if you play in a good system that shares playmaking duties like all elite teams do.

The long-distance shooting will come with reps and time, but right now he really needs to work on finishing and handles. Mass will help a touch, but you need a mindset to go along with it, and then his touch around the rim needs a lot of work as well.

To me, he tops out as an unselfish version of Evan Turner. I don't see him ever unseating Bogut as the best Aussie NBA player of all time though, even when all is said and done.

I can actually see him becoming an elite player in the league, if everything lines up for him. Its happened time and time again in the nba, right place, right time, right coach, right system. Id expected him to physically fold with the schedule, and for him to make it through the western conference slaughter house his first season without breaking down was impressive.

Tough for him many nights in that his primary role after getting it over half court was to rotate to the corner, giving space for Hayward to operate.

Noted preseason he was in a guard heavy rotation with the two Burkes and Hood and Ingles and Hayward played a lot of point forward, so it was always going to be interesting.

Not much room for his penetration game either with two bigs regularly clogging the paint.

I can really see him opening up next season if he can get some break out performances early to get going, and if one of the Burk/es are moved in a trade.

Mills wasn't the player he is now when he was playing in the NBL though. He is much better now. Back then he couldn't really shoot and needed volume to get points, now he is one of the most efficient scorers in the NBA.

@Anon above, re: core strength: absolutely agree with everything you said.

"He wouldn't make the all nbl 5. ... so in the nbl I think exum would average about 16 points 6 assists and 7 rebounds."

That would be an MVP caliber NBL season.

"He wouldn't make the all nbl 5 ... in the nbl I think exum would average about 16 points 6 assists and 7 rebounds."

Do you watch much NBL? Those numbers would get him pretty close to making the All-NBL First Team ... hell those numbers are better than Cedric Jackson's who was many people's pick for MVP.

bear = goose

Coming back from an injury that really affects shooting technique.

Look at his stats from the playoffs and back end of the season, and 2013/14 campaign as a whole.

He is as efficient as they come.

Anon #527639

There are 450 players signed to NBA rosters. 50th out of 450 in the 2013/14 season is pretty elite shooting in the most elite league in the world.

IIRC last year he was also one of the highest ranked PPM players in the league (top 25ish).

"A lot of people forget how good Patty Mills was in the NBL."

Patty dominated the lesser teams and struggled against the better teams. But Exum isn't anywhere near close to Mills then or now as a player, we'll see that this international season.

Agreed, but not yet.

That remains to be seen... he does have some tools. But Patty has killer instinct and self belief. These are things Dante needs if he is going to truly be a star.

Wow!

Guys, he is 19 years old, hold your fire. A 19 year old starting 40 plus games in his first year. Let's remember he has no college experience and played very little in the 18 months before the draft.

Add to all that the coaching staff would more than likely be giving him a lot of guidance and instruction given his age. I'm guessing something like "don't overdo it, keep your turnovers down, focus on defense and look to get your older more experienced teammates the ball".

C'mon guys, he was drafted behind 3 super talents, he's an Aussie and he's gonna be great.