SALT LAKE CITY – As unlikely as it seems, Dante Exum had not been back to the Delta Center since he was traded by the Utah Jazz just before Christmas in 2019 to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Jordan Clarkson deal.
Whenever the Cavs came back to Utah, Exum was unable to play. And then he spent the last two seasons in Europe.
“It’s crazy I haven’t been back since I got traded from here,” Exum said. “I love the people here, I love the organization. I was thinking about the first shot I hit here, a wing three. A lot of things flooding back. I’m excited to be back.”
While talking to some of the people who were working in the arena when Exum was with the Jazz after being the No. 5 overall pick in 2014, he could tell the fans have kept up with his journey this season with the Mavericks.
“They’re happy and proud with how I’ve been going,” Exum said. “I think the Utah people saw kind of the struggles I went through with injuries and everything and I think they’re happy I’m back (in the league).”
Asked about Exum’s move into the Mavericks’ starting lineup and his career- best 9.3 points and 3 rebounds per game, coach Jason Kidd said:
“I would say the European tour (was big), playing over there, understanding that his sights were to get back to the NBA. I think the work he put in in Europe – we saw a bigger guard who was a lottery pick, a lot of expectations at 18 years old.
“The way you see he’s playing, I think everyone in Utah envisioned that that’s what was going to take place. But sometimes, it takes time. It doesn’t just happen overnight.”
Alas, Exum’s return to the Salt Lake City didn’t last long. He aggravated a sore heel that has been bothering him in the second quarter and did not return. He finished with four points and three assists in 12 minutes.
“He was hurt. He gave it a shot,” Kidd said. “And just didn’t make it. Unfortunately, that’s just the nature of this business. You would like to be whole, but with his heel bruise, he tried, but he just couldn’t get past it. Tip your hat for him trying, but unfortunately we didn’t get enough minutes with that group.”
In a perfect world . . . : Jazz coach Will Hardy had some interesting thoughts about Luka Dončić before Monday’s game.
He was asked what an ideal scenario would be for guarding the Mavericks’ superstar guard.
“I’m clearly an expert,” Hardy joked. “He only had a triple-double in the first half last time we played them.”
He then tried to get serious about the various ways to defend the 6-7 point guard.
“In a perfect world, I just don’t know if you can keep a guy like Luka from shooting,” Hardy said. “I’ve been in so many coaches’ meetings over the years where people try to keep him from shooting his step-back three, and he’s so crafty with the ball, so good with his tempo, big and strong and knows how to use leverage in those spots to get shots off.”
But it’s not so much the scoring that makes Dončić such a beast.
“The games that scare me the most are the games he has 15 assists,” Hardy said. “Letting him make every decision as it comes to who’s going to shoot the ball is where it gets hard because he’s probably the best decision-maker we have in the league. So you have to live with some of his scoring, especially from the perimeter.
“In a perfect world, I would love for the Mavericks to score 90 points, Luka to have 85 of them and we score 105.”
Briefly: The Mavericks returned to Dallas after Monday’s game and are set to begin a seven-game homestand with games against Portland on Wednesday and Friday . . . Maxi Kleber was the lone Maverick who was unavailable on Monday as he continues recovering from a dislocated right small toe. He has begun work on the court.
X: @ESefko
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