Dante Exum is Impressive

[PickNRoll]

When the dust settles, there's going to be a lot of anguish over missing Exum by 1 pick.  My comp for him has always been Kobe.  He's added muscle since those old youtube videos - seems to have a great work ethic and reportedly tested "off-the-charts" by brain doctors around the league.  He's definitely not a PG.  Look at how he strips the guy and then 1 step and throws down with 2 hands.  Legit 6'6" with 3 point range and Westbrook-level quickness.  This is the one that got away.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kod-WZbeYFI

[GreenShooter]

Yeah, he definitely put on some weight. Good for him, he won't get pushed around as much playing the two but with obvious point guard skills. He's going to be a sick player in this league. I'd take him over Smart in a heartbeat. That one stupid win late in the season probably will haunt us. Let the bashing begin.

[D.o.s.]

Paging Celtics18.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Yeah, he definitely put on some weight. Good for him, he won't get pushed around as much playing the two but with obvious point guard skills. He's going to be a sick player in this league. I'd take him over Smart in a heartbeat. That one stupid win late in the season probably will haunt us. Let the bashing begin.

Smart is going to be good, but I really would have liked Exum.  As hard as it is for me to say, I can't really fully condone outright throwing games.  I will just blame it on that coin flip.  Here's hoping for the Celtics to just miss the playoffs but still win the lottery next year

[Waew]

The lost coin flip put us back a decade.

[GreenWarrior]

yup, this was the one & only guy I really wanted in this whole draft. I feel he's going to be more of a Penny Hardaway than a Kobe but I guess we'll see.

[Waew]

Yeah, he definitely put on some weight. Good for him, he won't get pushed around as much playing the two but with obvious point guard skills. He's going to be a sick player in this league. I'd take him over Smart in a heartbeat. That one stupid win late in the season probably will haunt us. Let the bashing begin.

Smart is going to be good, but I really would have liked Exum.  As hard as it is for me to say, I can't really fully condone outright throwing games.  I will just blame it on that coin flip.  Here's hoping for the Celtics to just miss the playoffs but still win the lottery next year

why can't you condone losing games? Basketball is a game. Games require strategies. The strategy of losing games as an investment in the draft is a viable strategy.

do you condone taking charges or attempting to draw fouls for free throws that were "undeserved"? Everything in a game is a strategy. If losing now could mean winning later, then its ok.

[obnoxiousmime]

Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.n coin flip.

I like Smart but even if he's a solid guy his ceiling is lower than the guys ahead of him. Wiggins, Gordon, and Exum are special athletes. Parker is a wing scorer, fast becoming a rarity in the league. And Embiid obviously is the rarest of all, a two-way big man.

What worries me about Smart is his first step just isn't at that top level. Things like shooting can be improved with practice, and people's bodies can put on weight. However, you can't teach athleticism.

[Tr1boy]

Could turn out to be a nowitzki vs pp situation for us again. A no lose situation

[DraftSmart33]

I could easily be wrong but after watching each of their games I haven't been quite as impressed.  He disappears for huge amounts of time and while he does have a nice first step I'm so sure his strength is a fixed problem.

7pts per 30 minutes played is not much to write home about....I would have taken Smart if I was Orlando and am glad we ended up with Marcus.

[kozlodoev]

When the dust settles, there's going to be a lot of anguish over missing Exum by 1 pick.  My comp for him has always been Kobe.  He's added muscle since those old youtube videos - seems to have a great work ethic and reportedly tested "off-the-charts" by brain doctors around the league.  He's definitely not a PG.  Look at how he strips the guy and then 1 step and throws down with 2 hands.  Legit 6'6" with 3 point range and Westbrook-level quickness.  This is the one that got away.

You know who else "tested off the charts" this way? Brian Scalabrine. I guess Exum is in good company. Who are those "brain doctors around the league", and where has this been reported anyway.

So far, he's got 7 ppg on 40% shooting in 3 SL games (25 minutes per). So I'd worry about the "one that got away" when I actually see something. So far -- not much, and this is from a player whose calling card is supposed to be offense.

[DraftSmart33]

****n coin flip.

I like Smart but even if he's a solid guy his ceiling is lower than the guys ahead of him. Wiggins, Gordon, and Exum are special athletes. Parker is a wing scorer, fast becoming a rarity in the league. And Embiid obviously is the rarest of all, a two-way big man.

What worries me about Smart is his first step just isn't at that top level. Things like shooting can be improved with practice, and people's bodies can put on weight. However, you can't teach athleticism.

Smart had scored very similar in athletic testing with vastly superior strength....also important to note that Smart was 10% body fat (college diet) and if he cleans that up and sheds some fat for muscle its fair to think his first step would be enhanced...much like Exum putting on some mass. 

Read up...
http://www.nbadraft.net/face-dante-exum-vs-marcus-smart

[Rondo9]

This should be put in the Marcus Smart is a bust thread. 

[LarBrd33]

I could easily be wrong but after watching each of their games I haven't been quite as impressed.  He disappears for huge amounts of time and while he does have a nice first step I'm so sure his strength is a fixed problem.

7pts per 30 minutes played is not much to write home about....I would have taken Smart if I was Orlando and am glad we ended up with Marcus.

I don't blame you for not being impressed, but it seems like the Jazz aren't really making him a focus out there.  They have Burke playing PG and don't seem to be involving him much in the offense.  They seem more focused on getting the bigs involved... they have had far more shot attempts than Exum.  When he does get the ball, he seems to be pretty efficient, talented and smart.   I guess instead of giving him the keys to the summerleague team (like Boston did with Smart), they are going to ease him in gently. 

[GreenWarrior]

from the little I've seen of exum(the 1 and a half games in summer league that I watched). the sense I got from him was that he wasn't forcing anything really and he was kind of letting the game come to him, and taking what was given to him. his stats didn't jump off the screen but he was involved and seemed to be part of a lot of "hockey assists".

they spoke about his "lack of movement on offense in the half-court" during the 2nd game and said he needed to work on that. but is this really the player's fault? don't teams run plays? what's the guy supposed to do? I saw him go after offensive rebounds, so he looked active to me.

one of the things they said was a question mark about him was can he play the 2? I think that's what he's primarily been playing in these summer games. so maybe it is still a question mark for him.