Jazz PG Dante Exum injures left knee playing for Australia

Dante Exum, playing for Australia in an exhibition against Slovenia, suffered a bad-looking injury.

He was projected to get a bigger role coming into this year, perhaps even starting ahead of Trey Burke at point guard for the team.

Driving to the paint, Exum jumped to shoot but flung his head back in pain after putting pressure on his left leg.

It has been reported that Exum has torn his ACL, with the up-and-coming prospect returning to Utah for further evaluation on the injury.

Utah drafted Boston College point guard Olivier Hanlan, but it’s uncertain if he’s going to sign with the team or perhaps play elsewhere as a stash player.

The left leg injury occurred against the Slovenia National Team on a non-contact play.

The 20-year-old Exum has been hampered by injuries this offseason. He averaged 4.8 points, 2.4 assists and 1.6 rebounds in his rookie season. He also missed an global game for Australia due to his ankle. 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. “I had that two months working with Jazz guys to do that”. It appears unlikely that Exum will return to the Australian team when the competition begins, but no further diagnosis has been made.

Gobert reached out to Exum on Twitter, writing, “Be strong, bro, see you soon”.