Anonymous
Years ago

Exum Thorpe's #1 Rookie

David Thorpe ranks Exum as the best of the rookies so far, saying:

"We saw Exum's "it" factor in summer league and he has been terrific this season, showing the ability to make both simple passes and tough ones (when required) to teammates for easy shots. He makes hard drives and dishes for 3s or dunks. He delivers lobs. He leads fast breaks, which result in wide-open scoring chances. And, most impressively, he finds open shooters far away from the action.

He's doing this with very few mental errors, too, while also managing the game. Exum is playing like someone who deserved to be drafted first overall."

There are plenty of arguments against that perspective, but it puts in context what rookies are expected to be doing at this point in the year.

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PlaymakerMo  
Years ago

Exum's played really solid basketball so far, playing within his capabilities (almost averaging a 3:1 ass/to ratio). Given that he was being touted as a 'bust' merely a month ago, that's no small turnaround.

He's not the No.1 rookie though... his lack of scoring ability will hold him back until he becomes stronger and learns to deal with the plethora of athleticism (not to mention skill) around the league.

If he keeps up this level of play, however, I'd consider it a successful season for him.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Where are the haters now?

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Mick  
Years ago

He's doing fine. he needs to get to the rim more, especially when he gets caught on a switch and has a big on him. In the NBA you are hurting your team when you dont score in those circumstances.

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joshuapending  
Years ago

Yeah he is doing good, settled in better than i though. Last couple of games have been a little down. I have been really impress with Joe, he has been earning more minutes now and since his shot has started to fall he looks more confident. Both Dante and Joe work well with Gordon so that is a plus going forward. One thing i would like to see from Dante more though is for him to go at the ring,he has that great first step if he gets a great floater he could be super dangerous.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Exum's play in the NBA so far should be a lesson to all young budding basketballers in Australia who possess his elite physical tools: work on the fundamental skills of ball handling and shooting. Whether you're right or left handed don't just rely on your superior quickness/athleticism to get to the rim going right/left every time. Work on your ball handling with both hands and develop your shooting off the dribble. Try not to fall into the trap of becoming a one-dimensional player just because your athleticism allows you to dominate.

As good as Exum has been and as good as he still promises to be, I think he'd have been almost a lock for the number one spot if he was a better ball handler and shooter. You can see that with better fundamental skills (that hopefully develop over time) even the best defenders in the NBA will struggle to stop him.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

No. 6 on NBA.com's rookie ladder

1) Jabari Parker - 10.9 PPG (41.9 FG%), 5.9 RPG, 1.0 APG, 28.8 MPG

2) Elfrid Payton – 6.4 PPG (33.8 FG%), 6.2 APG, 3.6 RPG, 28.1 MPG

3) K.J. McDaniels – 9.1 PPG (46.6 FG%), 2.1 RPG, 1.3 APG, 23.9 MPG

4) Nerlens Noel – 6.8 PPG (42.2 FG%), 5.8 RPG, 2.2 APG, 28.5 MPG

5) Andrew Wiggins – 10.0 PPG (43.8 FG%), 3.1 RPG, 0.9 APG, 27.9 MPG

6) Dante Exum – 5.8 PPG (41.9 FG%), 2.6 APG, 1.7 RPG, 19.3 MPG

7) Bojan Bogdanovic – 10.4 PPG (47.1 FG%), 2.6 RPG, 1.3 APG, 29.4 MPG

8) Aaron Gordon – 5.6 PPG (52.8 FG%), 3.0 RPG, 0.4 APG, 15.1 MPG

9) Doug McDermott – 4.4 PPG (50.0 FG%), 1.6 RPG, 0.2 APG, 12.7 MPG

10) Shabazz Napier – 4.0 PPG (36.7 FG%), 2.6 APG, 2.6 RPG, 20.3 MPG

Interesting in how such a strong draft how unimpressive the rookies have been thus far. That being said, it was more or a long term potential strong draft I guess.

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Wilson Sting  
Years ago

Good call Anon 887. I expected a few of this draft to average around 15 (Parker, Wiggins at least), maybe they will by the end of the season.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Where are the haters

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Aussiebballer  
Years ago

Looking at the numbers Bojan Bogdanovic should be ranked 1 at the moment.
He is shooting much better then most of the plyers above and is 2nd in pts, he does avg 29mins which helps.

My ranking would be....

1) Bojan Bogdanovic - 10.4 PPG (47.1 FG%), 2.6 RPG, 1.3 APG, 29.4 MPG

2) K.J. McDaniels – 9.1 PPG (46.6 FG%), 2.1 RPG, 1.3 APG, 23.9 MPG

3) Jabari Parker - 10.9 PPG (41.9 FG%), 5.9 RPG, 1.0 APG, 28.8 MPG

4) Andrew Wiggins – 10.0 PPG (43.8 FG%), 3.1 RPG, 0.9 APG, 27.9 MPG

5) Elfrid Payton – 6.4 PPG (33.8 FG%), 6.2 APG, 3.6 RPG, 28.1 MPG

6) Nerlens Noel – 6.8 PPG (42.2 FG%), 5.8 RPG, 2.2 APG, 28.5 MPG

7) Dante Exum – 5.8 PPG (41.9 FG%), 2.6 APG, 1.7 RPG, 19.3 MPG

8) Aaron Gordon – 5.6 PPG (52.8 FG%), 3.0 RPG, 0.4 APG, 15.1 MPG

9) Doug McDermott – 4.4 PPG (50.0 FG%), 1.6 RPG, 0.2 APG, 12.7 MPG

10) Shabazz Napier – 4.0 PPG (36.7 FG%), 2.6 APG, 2.6 RPG, 20.3 MPG

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Any ranking at this point in their careers is just a talking point. I would still rate Wiggins really highly and he's getting the opportunity to defend the best players in the league night in and night out, which none of the others are.

Bogdanovic and Mirotic you take with a grain of salt. The former is 6 years older than Exum, Wiggins, Gordon, Parker, etc. and a seasoned pro. Compare them to Tiago Splitter, who averaged 9.3 points @ 61.8% and 5.2 rebounds in 19mpg in his second year in the league (as a 25-year-old). How much better has he gotten since then?

I think the ranking for Exum is not so much indicative of him being the best right now or looking like he will be the best in the future. But no one thought he was a sure thing, that's why he fell to the Jazz. In terms of expectations, he's meeting his as well as any other player in the draft, while still showing tremendous flashes of superstar potential. If you're the Jazz, you have to be pretty happy with that.

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