Exum’s injury has already stirred up an interesting conversation among basketball fans and media about whether players should be allowed to play for their national teams in the offseason when their NBA squads invest so much in them. Boomers snapped a three-game losing streak after defeating the Slovenians 66-51, ending the team’s European tour in a good note.
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Dante Exum picked up a left knee injury while playing against Slovenia on Tuesday, and he will fly back to Utah in order to be re-evaluated.
Exum was driving into the paint and came to a jump stop in the middle of the lane when his left knee buckled. Exum was treated on site, and the Jazz announced he will return to Salt Lake City for evaluation by the team’s medical staff and healthcare provider. These were a bunch of exbition games against Lithuania and Slovinia.
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Exum, 20, averaged 4.8 points, 2.4 assists and 1.6 rebounds per game as a rookie last season after being selected with the No. 5 pick of the 2014 draft. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Australia may tap Hugh Greenwood or Mitch McCarron as a replacement for Exum if the Jazz sophomore deemed unfit to play against the Tall Blacks. It appears unlikely that Exum will return to the Australian team when the competition begins, but no further diagnosis has been made.
