[NihochuParticipant]

Im really starting to be against drafting international guys based off limited knowledge and evidence that they can contribute in the NBA. Dennis Schroeder got drafted after a good Nike Hoop Summit game, whereas nobody had really seen him play in international competition or in the German league. Bismack Biyombo, got drafted essentially due to his triple double in the Hoop Summit. Jan Vesely, averaged like single digits across all catagories in Europe. They all, even though Schroeder hasn’t had time to prove himself yet, have been somewhat dissapointments (in regards to how high they were picked) Dante is many respects different because he HAS dominated in international championships and played very well in the Hoop Summit, but still I personally just wouldn’t risk giving up such a high draft pick for a guy who unproven. Many guys can light up a tournament for a couple games and turn out to be mediocre, and I think that’s what is going to happen to Dante unfortunately. I played against him several times in International play and honestly the competition is like high school competition in a good basketball state, so I wouldn’t really read into his high scoring game against spain because they had limited amount of actually good guards. I hope for the sake of the Jazz im wrong.

[he_gets_bucketsParticipant]

Who were you playing for when you played against him?  Just want to know for credibility.

[he_gets_bucketsParticipant]

Who were you playing for when you played against him?  Just want to know for credibility.

[Junior Greek BallerParticipant]

This years NBA champions had more international players than any other team, what does that tell you ?

[Junior Greek BallerParticipant]

This years NBA champions had more international players than any other team, what does that tell you ?

[chaParticipant]

 I thought Biyombo was drafted because of his insane physical tools and athleticism at the 4? 

[chaParticipant]

 I thought Biyombo was drafted because of his insane physical tools and athleticism at the 4? 

[NihochuParticipant]

I played for the U18 Russian National team against Dante, and Spurs’ International players had credibility (most of them did) before coming to the NBA. Bellinelli had numerous great games in Europe, Patty Mills played in the NCAA and in the Olympics, Tiago played amazing in europe, Ginobili played a lot in Europe and was scouted a lot. My friend Moussa Diagne who now plays for Fuenlabrada (the team that Bismack Biyombo played for prior to the NBA) told me hardly any NBA scouts came to see him play, most NBA scouts went to places like Real Madrid or other bigger teams to see players. And they probably did draft him because of his physical tools, but what im saying is that there was limited knowledge before drafting him, and especially drafting him so high when they didn’t know much about him.

[Kinguy11Participant]

Didn’t Dante put up 20 points in that game at the U19 Worlds against Russia? Yeah he was 1/5 from 3 point range but he only missed one shot inside the arc. He got 6 assists and 3 steals without turning the ball over as well. If Exum playing Russia is the only sample you’re using you should be projecting an all star. It just sounds like you’re sour about Exum thrashing you at the worlds.

It’s sad how people condem players because they’ve never seen them play. I hope that Exum becomes a future HOF to prove guys who make assumptions like this wrong.

 

 

 

[Kinguy11Participant]

Didn’t Dante put up 20 points in that game at the U19 Worlds against Russia? Yeah he was 1/5 from 3 point range but he only missed one shot inside the arc. He got 6 assists and 3 steals without turning the ball over as well. If Exum playing Russia is the only sample you’re using you should be projecting an all star. It just sounds like you’re sour about Exum thrashing you at the worlds.

It’s sad how people condem players because they’ve never seen them play. I hope that Exum becomes a future HOF to prove guys who make assumptions like this wrong.

 

 

 

[NihochuParticipant]

I played for the U18 Russian National team against Dante, and Spurs’ International players had credibility (most of them did) before coming to the NBA. Bellinelli had numerous great games in Europe, Patty Mills played in the NCAA and in the Olympics, Tiago played amazing in europe, Ginobili played a lot in Europe and was scouted a lot. My friend Moussa Diagne who now plays for Fuenlabrada (the team that Bismack Biyombo played for prior to the NBA) told me hardly any NBA scouts came to see him play, most NBA scouts went to places like Real Madrid or other bigger teams to see players. And they probably did draft him because of his physical tools, but what im saying is that there was limited knowledge before drafting him, and especially drafting him so high when they didn’t know much about him.

[vulture711Participant]

But the draft is about what teams think you can do – not what you’ve done so much – and a lot of teams think he has a lot of potential going forward.  Lets face it – a lot of guys come in with great college resumes – and they suck – and other guys you never heard of – are great.  Lets not be too judgemental 

[vulture711Participant]

But the draft is about what teams think you can do – not what you’ve done so much – and a lot of teams think he has a lot of potential going forward.  Lets face it – a lot of guys come in with great college resumes – and they suck – and other guys you never heard of – are great.  Lets not be too judgemental 

[Ahkasi ClayParticipant]

like there are no American Bust!

for every Vessley

there is a Morrison.

 

 

[Ahkasi ClayParticipant]

like there are no American Bust!

for every Vessley

there is a Morrison.

 

 

[Ahkasi ClayParticipant]

 didn’t you claim to play for Real Madrid in a different tread?

 

 

[Ahkasi ClayParticipant]

 didn’t you claim to play for Real Madrid in a different tread?

 

 

[NihochuParticipant]

Yeah i did play for real madrid, i played for both real madrid and the russian u18 team. Im not here to prove my identity as a basketball player

[NihochuParticipant]

Yeah i did play for real madrid, i played for both real madrid and the russian u18 team. Im not here to prove my identity as a basketball player

[NJHooper95Participant]

 I too am a little apprehensive about Dante. It has nothing to do with hI’m playing overseas but rather that there is so little tape on him. The college guys get killed because you see them for 30 games and pick them apart. Imagine just drafting guys off an aau tournament or McDonald’s and Jordan all American game. That is what is taking place with Exum, not saying he won’t be great, but not enough evidence to me that he will be either.

[NJHooper95Participant]

 I too am a little apprehensive about Dante. It has nothing to do with hI’m playing overseas but rather that there is so little tape on him. The college guys get killed because you see them for 30 games and pick them apart. Imagine just drafting guys off an aau tournament or McDonald’s and Jordan all American game. That is what is taking place with Exum, not saying he won’t be great, but not enough evidence to me that he will be either.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Bill Simmons kept repeating this about Exum during draft coverage. 

I can’t wait to see him play. I know nothing about him. 

 

 

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Bill Simmons kept repeating this about Exum during draft coverage. 

I can’t wait to see him play. I know nothing about him. 

 

 

[Lotto StudParticipant]

It will be very interesting to see if Burks outplay him for the starting SG spot.

[strobox88Participant]

Burks has had plenty of chances.  Either way, both should be in the summer league.  Can’t wait.

[strobox88Participant]

Burks has had plenty of chances.  Either way, both should be in the summer league.  Can’t wait.

[Lotto StudParticipant]

It will be very interesting to see if Burks outplay him for the starting SG spot.

[burgessfourParticipant]

 the drafts biggest question mark. We’ve all seen the same video of him and he does look to have great athletism to me. I do question that they’ve been hiding him for the last year, what is it they didn’t want NBA people to see ?

[burgessfourParticipant]

 the drafts biggest question mark. We’ve all seen the same video of him and he does look to have great athletism to me. I do question that they’ve been hiding him for the last year, what is it they didn’t want NBA people to see ?

[IhateusernamesParticipant]

 They should’ve picked Bruno instead!

[IhateusernamesParticipant]

 They should’ve picked Bruno instead!

[druneave3Participant]

Awesome. When you played against him, you didn’t think he was fast with an incredible first step? He did blow up the combine and was faster than Chris Paul, Westbrook, and a ton of extremely quick NBA point guards, this during the golden era of point guards. He was also by far the most intelligent player in the draft, testing out the roof. Did you hear him talk? That accent and ability to communicate will make him a marketing dream. He’s got size, length, versatility, vast defensive potential, while also being a high character guy. There was a strong posibility that this kid could have gone #2 overall, there is a reason for that. Just like with Wiggins and Parker, we will have to wait and see. 

Like many have stated, there have been plenty of american born players who bust, hard. Excluding international players from your team is just stupid when looking at the history of basketball. We don’t need to go down the list of all the amazing players….. If only the NBA had invested early in other countries we might have been blessed to see Arvydas Sabonis during in his prime. As a Bulls fan I was a huge fan of Viktor Khryapa, who, as you know, is Russian. 

 

[druneave3Participant]

Awesome. When you played against him, you didn’t think he was fast with an incredible first step? He did blow up the combine and was faster than Chris Paul, Westbrook, and a ton of extremely quick NBA point guards, this during the golden era of point guards. He was also by far the most intelligent player in the draft, testing out the roof. Did you hear him talk? That accent and ability to communicate will make him a marketing dream. He’s got size, length, versatility, vast defensive potential, while also being a high character guy. There was a strong posibility that this kid could have gone #2 overall, there is a reason for that. Just like with Wiggins and Parker, we will have to wait and see. 

Like many have stated, there have been plenty of american born players who bust, hard. Excluding international players from your team is just stupid when looking at the history of basketball. We don’t need to go down the list of all the amazing players….. If only the NBA had invested early in other countries we might have been blessed to see Arvydas Sabonis during in his prime. As a Bulls fan I was a huge fan of Viktor Khryapa, who, as you know, is Russian. 

 

[SwatLakeCityParticipant]

I understand the criticism. It makes sense. Not much experience, not much game tape. But, all NBA teams do their homework on the guys they end up drafting. As someone else said, "Teams draft kids thinking they’ll be great, not what you have done." Grant it, the what you have done does indeed go into teams drafting a kid because they think he’ll be great. One the other hand, teams have to have a lot of faith in their young players in order for them to develop. They need people to believe in them, that gives them confidence, motivation, and ultimately the will to succeed.

This is not uncommon for the Jazz. In 2011, Jazz drafted another "international" player who also didn’t have much success or any game tapes, in Enes Kanter. He couldn’t play at Kentucky that entire season before he was drafted. So he was drafted pretty much based on his hoop sumit play. Now true, Kanter has gathered a lot of criticism this past season, because of his inability to play defense, and generally soft play, but let’s disregard that and look at the fit both Kanter and Exum have for the Jazz. 

Jazz draft players based not only on "college play", but also on team fit. Their personality has to match the organization. They have to do this so players stay in such a small market. Kanter has that personality. He has a cute, little personality, that I think he wants to stay in Utah long term. He has said that even though his first season of "starting" for the Jazz at Center didn’t work out too well, he still thinks him and Derrick Favors can coexist. And lets give him credit, big men do take awhile to develop. And the Jazz just had a horrible coach in Ty Corbin. He didn’t know how to develop the young players properely. He tried to many new things, thinking "we’ve gotta keep trying new things. Something’s gotta stick, eventually" Well the only way things actually stick is if their is some glue to it, or at least some velcrow or tape. 

And the first year of just the young guys starting was rough, a lot of learning experience and growing pains. But once Burke returned from the injury things started to turn around for the Jazz. They had one of biggest turnarounds once he came back. He was the glue that made the team stick. But even he had his problems. It wasn’t all bright stars from there. The Jazz still lost games with him at point guard and a lot of them, but there was also the uncountable sucess. So the Jazz needed more glue to make all the young guys stick.

And that’s what Dante Exum is, more glue. The last puzzle piece to the puzzle. (well, okay for the starting lineup of young guys but not for the entire team) His personality does indeed fit the organization. He has a cute little personality that makes he’s going to stay long term. Yeah, I admit I had my doubts about him at first thinking he was just another Alec Burks and has the same kind of playing style. But then again I really haven’t seem him play so I could very well be wrong about him being similar to Burks. And you can’t deny his "somewhat little" success he’s had, the comparisons, the incredible deceptive first step, the excellent ball control, passing, and orchestrating the team offense. But ultimately this pick was about the fit, the personality. The success and proving doubters wrong will come later in the actual NBA season.

 

 

 

 

 

[SwatLakeCityParticipant]

I understand the criticism. It makes sense. Not much experience, not much game tape. But, all NBA teams do their homework on the guys they end up drafting. As someone else said, "Teams draft kids thinking they’ll be great, not what you have done." Grant it, the what you have done does indeed go into teams drafting a kid because they think he’ll be great. One the other hand, teams have to have a lot of faith in their young players in order for them to develop. They need people to believe in them, that gives them confidence, motivation, and ultimately the will to succeed.

This is not uncommon for the Jazz. In 2011, Jazz drafted another "international" player who also didn’t have much success or any game tapes, in Enes Kanter. He couldn’t play at Kentucky that entire season before he was drafted. So he was drafted pretty much based on his hoop sumit play. Now true, Kanter has gathered a lot of criticism this past season, because of his inability to play defense, and generally soft play, but let’s disregard that and look at the fit both Kanter and Exum have for the Jazz. 

Jazz draft players based not only on "college play", but also on team fit. Their personality has to match the organization. They have to do this so players stay in such a small market. Kanter has that personality. He has a cute, little personality, that I think he wants to stay in Utah long term. He has said that even though his first season of "starting" for the Jazz at Center didn’t work out too well, he still thinks him and Derrick Favors can coexist. And lets give him credit, big men do take awhile to develop. And the Jazz just had a horrible coach in Ty Corbin. He didn’t know how to develop the young players properely. He tried to many new things, thinking "we’ve gotta keep trying new things. Something’s gotta stick, eventually" Well the only way things actually stick is if their is some glue to it, or at least some velcrow or tape. 

And the first year of just the young guys starting was rough, a lot of learning experience and growing pains. But once Burke returned from the injury things started to turn around for the Jazz. They had one of biggest turnarounds once he came back. He was the glue that made the team stick. But even he had his problems. It wasn’t all bright stars from there. The Jazz still lost games with him at point guard and a lot of them, but there was also the uncountable sucess. So the Jazz needed more glue to make all the young guys stick.

And that’s what Dante Exum is, more glue. The last puzzle piece to the puzzle. (well, okay for the starting lineup of young guys but not for the entire team) His personality does indeed fit the organization. He has a cute little personality that makes he’s going to stay long term. Yeah, I admit I had my doubts about him at first thinking he was just another Alec Burks and has the same kind of playing style. But then again I really haven’t seem him play so I could very well be wrong about him being similar to Burks. And you can’t deny his "somewhat little" success he’s had, the comparisons, the incredible deceptive first step, the excellent ball control, passing, and orchestrating the team offense. But ultimately this pick was about the fit, the personality. The success and proving doubters wrong will come later in the actual NBA season.

 

 

 

 

 

[reborG80Participant]

if he can ball or not might not mean much if the jazz don’t have a coach that will bring out the better baller cuz corbin had no clue what to do with his team

[reborG80Participant]

if he can ball or not might not mean much if the jazz don’t have a coach that will bring out the better baller cuz corbin had no clue what to do with his team

[Pistol Pete. The PelicanParticipant]

 Honestly Based off of his body, athleticism, and brief game highlights that I have seen, he looks like he has tons of potential and could be a great player, but during the draft I kept asking myself, "What’s the difference between Alec Burks and Dante Exum besides the mystery?"

Combine results

Alec Burks 6’6", 193 pounds, and a 6’10" wingspan, 36 inch vertical, 5.1 percent body fat, 10.96 lane agilty drill, and a 3.17 3/4 court sprint. This is after Alec Burks averaged 19 points, 2 assists, 6 rebounds and a steal on 50% shooting in 2 years at Colorado. In 28 mpg this year he averaged 14 points, 1 steal, 3 assists and 3 rebounds off of the bench. About to turn 23. He was a combo guard in college and he’s now one in the pros. 

Dante Exum 6’6", 196 pounds, and a 6’9.5" wingspan, 34.5 inch vertical, 6.4 percent body fat, 10.75 lane agility drill, and a 3.19 3/4 court sprint. This is with limited game experience. He is only about to be 19 though.

 

This post is to say 2 things, maybe Alec Burks is better than people give him credit for, and maybe Dante Exum won’t be as good as people think he will be. I understand the mystery and the potential, I also think Utah’s young players have had some of their potential, production and time squandered with Tyrone Corbin as coach. 

[Pistol Pete. The PelicanParticipant]

 Honestly Based off of his body, athleticism, and brief game highlights that I have seen, he looks like he has tons of potential and could be a great player, but during the draft I kept asking myself, "What’s the difference between Alec Burks and Dante Exum besides the mystery?"

Combine results

Alec Burks 6’6", 193 pounds, and a 6’10" wingspan, 36 inch vertical, 5.1 percent body fat, 10.96 lane agilty drill, and a 3.17 3/4 court sprint. This is after Alec Burks averaged 19 points, 2 assists, 6 rebounds and a steal on 50% shooting in 2 years at Colorado. In 28 mpg this year he averaged 14 points, 1 steal, 3 assists and 3 rebounds off of the bench. About to turn 23. He was a combo guard in college and he’s now one in the pros. 

Dante Exum 6’6", 196 pounds, and a 6’9.5" wingspan, 34.5 inch vertical, 6.4 percent body fat, 10.75 lane agility drill, and a 3.19 3/4 court sprint. This is with limited game experience. He is only about to be 19 though.

 

This post is to say 2 things, maybe Alec Burks is better than people give him credit for, and maybe Dante Exum won’t be as good as people think he will be. I understand the mystery and the potential, I also think Utah’s young players have had some of their potential, production and time squandered with Tyrone Corbin as coach. 

[LindseyParticipant]

 I think the passing of Exum is the difference between the two. He is a very skilled and versatyle passer. Also Dante just MOVES like MJ. People will get enamored with that.

[LindseyParticipant]

 I think the passing of Exum is the difference between the two. He is a very skilled and versatyle passer. Also Dante just MOVES like MJ. People will get enamored with that.

[GoJOSH HUESTISParticipant]

That MJ doesn’t stand for Jordan does it?  He doesn’t move with that quickness and explosiveness like Jordan at all, not even that close to that explosiveness

[GoJOSH HUESTISParticipant]

That MJ doesn’t stand for Jordan does it?  He doesn’t move with that quickness and explosiveness like Jordan at all, not even that close to that explosiveness

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

You’ve said Wiggins changes directions like D. Rose and now Exum moves like MJ. 

Dude… What are you smoking lol???

 

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

You’ve said Wiggins changes directions like D. Rose and now Exum moves like MJ. 

Dude… What are you smoking lol???

 

[SwatLakeCityParticipant]

That’s exactly the kinds of things I was seeing when I compared Dante Exum to a rich man’s version of Alec Burks. Big, can play both guard spots, is an underrated passer (well okay Exum is more known for his passing but still), can’t shoot but gets his points by driving to the basket and is a bonifide scorer in that aspect. Has similar height and weight coming out of college. I wasn’t quite sure about the combine #’s but that’s because I didn’t care to look back and find Burks’ numbers and the combine I don’t think had happened yet for 2014.

When I made the post no one really agreed with me and thought it was a little pre-mature. Which kind of surprised me. Finally someone sees what I mean. (well okay now they are starting to agree with me, but that was only because I just barely looked back not five seconds ago and saw that I got +10 from that post. But at the very beginning I started getting a lot of negs, and no really believed me or saw the comparison. Just look at the first few replies for proof of that)

 

[SwatLakeCityParticipant]

That’s exactly the kinds of things I was seeing when I compared Dante Exum to a rich man’s version of Alec Burks. Big, can play both guard spots, is an underrated passer (well okay Exum is more known for his passing but still), can’t shoot but gets his points by driving to the basket and is a bonifide scorer in that aspect. Has similar height and weight coming out of college. I wasn’t quite sure about the combine #’s but that’s because I didn’t care to look back and find Burks’ numbers and the combine I don’t think had happened yet for 2014.

When I made the post no one really agreed with me and thought it was a little pre-mature. Which kind of surprised me. Finally someone sees what I mean. (well okay now they are starting to agree with me, but that was only because I just barely looked back not five seconds ago and saw that I got +10 from that post. But at the very beginning I started getting a lot of negs, and no really believed me or saw the comparison. Just look at the first few replies for proof of that)

 

[GoJOSH HUESTISParticipant]

 I’ve been skeptical about him every since he started getting overhyped.  He struggled vs marcus smart and Payton during the 18u games before he got hurt and he’s never really looked like a pg, more of a SG. With that said a pg in the NBA nowadays is basically a SG with handles.  He’s athletic but not explosive and his shooting is below average right now but he’s young and can eventually develop a better jumper.  Mostly I’m skeptical because he hasn’t dominated top competition. In the u19 games he dominated guys who would be D2 players or off the bench low d1 players. Maybe he meets the hype but it’s possible he just becomes a ok player and doesn’t meet the hype ala Ricky Rubio in the first couple of seasons

[GoJOSH HUESTISParticipant]

 I’ve been skeptical about him every since he started getting overhyped.  He struggled vs marcus smart and Payton during the 18u games before he got hurt and he’s never really looked like a pg, more of a SG. With that said a pg in the NBA nowadays is basically a SG with handles.  He’s athletic but not explosive and his shooting is below average right now but he’s young and can eventually develop a better jumper.  Mostly I’m skeptical because he hasn’t dominated top competition. In the u19 games he dominated guys who would be D2 players or off the bench low d1 players. Maybe he meets the hype but it’s possible he just becomes a ok player and doesn’t meet the hype ala Ricky Rubio in the first couple of seasons

[The GoatParticipant]

 Theres a full game video of Dante that a guy posted on this site on a thred a couple of days ago. Most havent seen it, it wasnt available pre-draft. If you want some more footage, scroll back thru the forum a few days and you’ll find it. I think its a A HS championship game where he had 20 & 15 assists, you can check the level of competition too. He’s only just 19 dont forget – teams draft on potential especially when you can possibly be a 6’6" PG

[The GoatParticipant]

 Theres a full game video of Dante that a guy posted on this site on a thred a couple of days ago. Most havent seen it, it wasnt available pre-draft. If you want some more footage, scroll back thru the forum a few days and you’ll find it. I think its a A HS championship game where he had 20 & 15 assists, you can check the level of competition too. He’s only just 19 dont forget – teams draft on potential especially when you can possibly be a 6’6" PG

[ProudGrandpaParticipant]

 I used to not believe in the Illuminati.  But I was being silly then, just like you’re being silly now.

[ProudGrandpaParticipant]

 I used to not believe in the Illuminati.  But I was being silly then, just like you’re being silly now.

[Author]

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