Rockets guard Dante Exum named to Australia’s Olympic team

Exum, who missed most of the season due to injury, is the only member of Houston’s final roster who is slated to play in the 2021 Olympics.

Rockets guard and veteran defensive ace Dante Exum is among six NBA players who will play for the Australia men’s basketball team during the upcoming 2021 Olympics. As of now, Exum is the only member of Houston’s 2020-21 roster who is slated to play in Tokyo.

It will be the first Olympics appearance for Exum, who turns 26 years old later this month. Though Exum has been a part of Houston’s roster since January, he did not play in any games for the Rockets due to a calf injury. It does not seem that the injury will compromise his availability in 2021-22, since he is medically cleared for the Olympics.

It appears that Exum will be the only representation from Houston’s 2020-21 roster in Tokyo. Kelly Olynyk did not play in Canada’s recent qualifying tournament, presumably due to his pending free agency, and Canada ultimately did not qualify for the Olympics. The final U.S. team does not include any player with ties to the Rockets.

As for Exum, he was acquired by the Rockets in January as part of the complicated four-team blockbuster trade that sent James Harden to Brooklyn. Considering Houston’s sudden status as a rebuilding team, it always seemed more likely that Exum’s inclusion in the trade was for salary reasons — both to provide salary cap flexibility in the form of an expiring contract, as well as to potentially use Exum’s in-season salary ($9.6 million) or offseason Bird rights for trade filler purposes.

Despite his health issues, though, it’s worth noting that Houston did not release Exum — even when a barrage of injuries forced them to free up roster spots on several occasions late in the season. Many of those decisions to release players came after the March 25 trade deadline, so it wasn’t as if general manager Rafael Stone was hoping for an in-season exchange. That could signal an openness to keeping Exum around, or at least attempting to use his Bird rights to facilitate a sign-and-trade.

The Olympics men’s basketball competition takes place from July 25 through August 7. With NBA free agency set to begin in the first week of August, it could provide an opportunity for teams to gauge Exum’s health and form prior to making any decisions about a contract offer.

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