Ben Anderson: Returning Dante Exum remains Jazz's biggest mystery


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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz received a strange twist of fate Monday, announcing that backup point guard Raul Neto had fractured his wrist in the team’s victory over New Orleans on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune reported that Dante Exum, who has missed the entire season after dislocating his shoulder during the NBA’s preseason, is eyeing a return to the Jazz lineup this week. Exum was assigned to the Salt Lake City Stars on Tuesday morning, to get one more 5-on-5 practice under his belt before playing in games. He'll likely spend his time at the Stars without playing a game.

The events couldn’t have come at a better time. Neto’s injury isn’t serious and gives the Jazz the freedom to play Exum in what had previously been Neto’s allotted minutes.

Neto has struggled mightily over the team’s recent playoff run. The usually solid backup point guard has seen his averages drop from 5.2 points per game while shooting 48 percent from the floor and a superb 46 percent from the 3-point line, to a dismal 2.7 points per game, shooting 36 percent from the floor and 14 percent from the 3-point line. Though his minutes had dipped slightly, Neto’s previously excellent backup role had become an increasing liability.

What Exum may now bring the Jazz is a bit of a mystery. Of Exum’s 148 career games, 67 of them have found him in the starting lineup. All but one of those 67 starts have come in the last 106 games, and he’s averaged over 20 minutes per game during those appearances. Truthfully, it’s unlikely that type of workload will be available.

If Exum were to simply absorb Neto’s former role, he could pick up just a shade under 13 minutes per game. Any further minutes would likely require Exum to eat into the minutes of current starts Ricky Rubio and Donovan Mitchell, or surprise rookie Royce O’Neale.

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With the Jazz in the midst of a tightly contested playoff race, it seems unlikely that Exum will take minutes from any of the Jazz starting players. Exum could dip into the minutes of O’Neale, but with a similar skill set, O’Neale may be the better option.

Neto provides the Jazz with a steady playmaker and above average 3-point shooter, though his lack of size and athleticism limits him from earning more minutes in the rotation. Exum meanwhile has tremendous size for a point guard, standing 6-foot-6, and measured as one of the fastest players in the NBA during his draft workouts. He is, however, a below average shooter for his position and turns the ball over at a high rate.

It’s also unclear how Exum will be used alongside Mitchell, or if he can play alongside Rubio. While Exum and Rubio’s length could benefit the Jazz on the defensive side of the ball, their low 3-point shooting percentages could clog the team’s spacing on offense to the point of a standstill.

However, the early returns on Exum and Mitchell sharing the floor, though extremely limited, were promising. Exum appeared in three games during the Utah Jazz summer league alongside Mitchell and averaged 20 points 4.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists.

While the competition level in the summer league is a far reach from the talent Exum will face nightly during an NBA playoff race, the cohesion the two showed should give Jazz fans hope for the team’s future backcourt.

With Neto’s injury, Exum’s rumored return couldn’t be coming at a better time. But on the back of two major injuries and significant missed time over the first four years of his career, with a newly crowded backcourt, what Exum brings to the Jazz is as big of a mystery as ever.


![Ben Anderson](http://img.ksl.com/slc/2556/255612/25561254\.jpg?filter=ksl/65x65)
About the Author: Ben Anderson ------------------------------

Ben Anderson is a sports contributor for KSL.com. Follow him on Twitter @BenKFAN.

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