NBA Draft Rumors: Dante Exum isn’t a risk
Australian point guard Dante Exum continues to rise up draft boards.
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Exum has been viewed as a near-lock to be selected in the top four over the past few months and now that former Kansas Jayhawks’ center Joel Embiid has undergone surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right foot, Exum may go even higher than expected.
Some believe Exum to be a bit of a risk, but Chad Ford of ESPN.com doesn’t see Exum falling past the third-overall pick and according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com, Exum isn’t a risk at all.
"But Exum remains a question mark. Nearly every GM in the league has laid eyes on him just once — at the Nike Hoop Summit. That was more than a year ago. Some have never been in attendance to watch him play a 5-on-5 game. They have studied his game on film, seen him jump high and run fast in May at the NBA draft combine in Chicago. Some GMs feel as though taking him would be rolling the dice — while others aren’t overly concerned.“I do not think it’s a risk at all,” said one GM who will pick in the top half of the draft. “This kid’s upside is tremendous.”“I like being a mystery,” says a grinning Exum. “They haven’t seen me to pick apart my game — and they also haven’t seen how much better I’ve gotten in the past year.”"
Exum measured in at 6’6 and 196 lbs. with a wingspan of 6’9.5 at the NBA’s Scouting Combine. Exum is ranked by Jonathan Givony of Draft Express as the fifth-best prospect in the draft.