Tag: Dante Exum

Dante Exum channeled Dennis Rodman on this hustle play and the camerawork was stunning

Dante Exum looked like The Worm!

After spending a few years away from the NBA, former top-five pick Dante Exum has earned a spot back in the rotation for the Dallas Mavericks.

The 28-year-old Australian-born guard has found a solid role for himself in Dallas. He showed how he is earning minutes with a solid hustle play against one of his former teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers. During the game, instead of going out of bounds for a turnover, Cleveland big man Jarrett Allen threw the ball off Exum.

But as he saw this happen, Exum laid out for the ball in an attempt to give Dallas control of the play. This reminded some fans of the legendary Dennis Rodman, who would regularly put his body on the line to keep a possession alive.

The twitch, body control, effort and awareness from Exum was outstanding. But it was also nothing new if you have watched him play this season.

Exum has averaged 1.3 loose balls recovered per 36 minutes, via NBA.com, which is tied for the seventh-most among those who have logged at least as many minutes so far this season.

While was a tremendous display of athleticism on the play by Exum, as noted by play-by-play announcer Mark Followill, this was equally good work from Mavericks television broadcast cameraman Gregg Schmidt.

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Ex-Celtics big man Guerschon Yabusele apologizes for Dante Exum bodyslam in Partizan-Real Madrid fight

“I deeply regret my behavior at last night’s game,” wrote Yabusele on his Instagram after the loss.

Former Boston Celtics big man Guerschon Yabusele has apologized for an incident in which he bodyslammed fellow former NBAer Dante Exum in the middle of an on-court fight between EuroLeague teams Partizan and Real Madrid on Thursday that resulted in a ruptured tendon and chipped tooth for the latter, per USA TODAY’s Tom Schad.

“Euroleague Basketball strongly condemns the events that happened at the end of the game,” said the league in a statement after the contest was called in favor of Partizan after neither team had the minimum number of players available after the ejections caused by the bench-clearing fight.

“I deeply regret my behavior at last night’s game,” wrote Yabusele on his Instagram after the loss. “Basketball is about sportsmanship and friendship.”

“My sincere apologies to Partizan, a club with which we have always had a great relationship, to Dante Exum and his family, to my teammates, my club, and all the fans.”

“Exum could have broken his spine, seriously injured his head and ended his career,” shared Partizan team doctor Moma Jakovljević, who called for Yabusele’s permanent ejection from the league for the act.

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Dante Exum was injured by a Guerschon Yabusele body slam during massive EuroLeague brawl

Exum suffered a ruptured tendon in his second toe.

Dante Exum and Guerschon Yabusele, two former NBA players, were involved in a massive brawl during a EuroLeague playoff match.

Exum, who was selected No. 5 overall in the 2014 NBA Draft, now plays for Partizan Belgrade. Yabusele, drafted No. 16 in 2016, now suits up for Real Madrid.

When the two teams faced each other on Thursday, the two teams got chippy late in the fourth quarter. While the altercation began with shoving following a foul by Sergio Llull on Kevin Punter, it quickly escalated when Yabusele body-slammed Exum.

You can watch a full video of the brawl below, but it wasn’t pretty and not what you want to see when you watch sports. The game was fully suspended following the incident. Both clubs were fined for unsportsmanlike conduct.

OK, that was a lot to process. But it didn’t look fun for anyone involved. Let’s try to piece together what happened.

In addition to Exum, former NBA player Dzanan Musa was shoved to the floor by Mathias Lessort.

But the most critical moment was the body slam from Yabusele.

If you didn’t originally catch it, here is a more zoomed-in video:

YIKES.

Once everything settled down, meanwhile, Exum could only get off the floor because he had assistance from his teammates and team medical staff.

That body slam clearly made a serious impact on Exum.

Unfortunately for the Australian guard, he had to leave the WiZink Center in Madrid on crutches.

Partizan’s doctor, Moma Jakovljevic, revealed that Exum suffered a ruptured tendon in his second toe. The doctor, who described it as a “serious” injury, said Exum also suffered an upper lip injury.

Yabusele posted on Instagram and apologized to Exum, who will likely miss the remainder of the series with the injured toe.

Yabusele was hit with a 5-game suspension for his actions.

Punter received a 2-game suspension, Lessort received a 1-game suspension, and Gabriel Deck received a 1-game suspension as well.

The decisions are not subject to appeal.

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After signing Armoni Brooks, Rockets waive Dante Exum for roster spot

After signing Armoni Brooks to a standard deal, Houston had to make a roster move before its season opener, and Dante Exum was the choice.

With the NBA’s roster deadline looming for the 2021-22 season, Houston waived veteran guard Dante Exum on Saturday. The move came two days after second-year sharpshooter Armoni Brooks was given a standard contract, which meant that one player had to be let go in order for the Rockets to be at the regular-season limit of 15 players on standard deals.

Exum was signed in mid-September to a multi-year contract based heavily on incentives, which might have made him a useful trade commodity for salary matching purposes, under the right circumstances. However, the Rockets clearly left themselves an exit strategy with regards to Exum, since each year of the deal was non-guaranteed.

Ultimately, it seems Exum did not show enough in training camp or the preseason for head coach Stephen Silas and general manager Rafael Stone to be sold on the basketball merits of keeping him around. Moreover, if Exum didn’t show enough on the floor to be of value — even on a young Houston roster that finished last season with the NBA’s worst record — other teams were unlikely to have much trade interest.

By contrast, Brooks shot 45.0% on 3-pointers in Houston’s four exhibition games, and that made him a better candidate for the final standard roster spot. The Rockets do still have a pair of two-way contract slots — currently occupied by Daishen Nix and Anthony Lamb — that could be awarded in the coming days, should Stone and Silas see someone on the waiver wire that they view as a potential upgrade. Like Houston, teams throughout the league will be making cuts to reach the regular-season threshold. However, that player would be limited to a maximum of 50 NBA games, so long as he’s under that two-way NBA/G League deal.

After effectively making an Exum-for-Brooks swap, Houston’s 15 standard contracts appear to be finalized for the time being. Players on standard deals are eligible to play in all of the NBA team’s games.

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Christian Wood, Dante Exum, Stephen Silas react to Day 3 of Rockets training camp

Christian Wood, Stephen Silas, and Dante Exum shared their takeaways after Day 3 of Rockets training camp, which included media access to a few basketball drills.

Big man Christian Wood, guard Dante Exum, and head coach Stephen Silas each addressed the media Thursday following the third day of Houston Rockets training camp for the 2021-22 season.

The Rockets are midway through a week-long stint in coastal Galveston, which is designed to help the team bond off the court, as well. Early next week, they transition back to Houston’s Toyota Center, where the preseason opener is set for Tuesday, Oct. 5 versus Washington.

Rookie big man Alperen Sengun, who missed each of the first two days of training camp due to a non-COVID-related illness, returned to the practice court on Thursday to make his training camp debut. Sengun was selected at No. 16 overall in the first round of the NBA’s 2021 draft.

Here’s a roundup of videos and quotes from the post-practice interviews with Silas, Wood, and Exum. After an off day Friday, training camp resumes on Saturday, again from the Galveston Island Convention Center.

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Rockets list minutes played, net rating as Dante Exum contract incentives

Dante Exum needs to play 15.8 minutes per game and post a net rating of +2.7 or better to earn his incentives, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

ESPN’s Bobby Marks, who serves as the network’s NBA salary cap guru after spending time in the league as an executive, has new details on the creative contract between Dante Exum and the Houston Rockets.

Per Marks, Exum’s non-guaranteed base salaries for the next three seasons are $2.5 million, $2.3 million, and $2.1 million, respectively. Each year contains a trigger date, and the base amount becomes guaranteed as long as the veteran guard is not waived by that date.

But for Exum to reap the full value of the contract, which is worth up to $15 million over the 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24 seasons, he needs to hit certain incentives each year. According to Marks, the incentive figures negotiated by Houston general manager Rafael Stone are an average of 15.8 minutes played per game, along with a personal net rating of +2.7 or better. For players, net rating is defined as the team’s point differential per 100 possessions while they are on court.

“They [the Rockets] are one of the most creative front offices,” said Marks, who broke down the contract on his Instagram page. Because the incentives are deemed likely by the league, Marks reports that Exum’s outgoing salary figure in future trades will be the maximum $5-million annual amount, as of Jan. 7, 2022. It will be $3.3 million when Exum is first eligible to be dealt on Dec. 15, 2021, and it will gradually increase on a daily basis until hitting the full amount in early January.

Players who sign new NBA contracts during a given offseason are not eligible to be traded until Dec. 15 of that season.

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Rockets waive Tyler Bey to finalize Dante Exum signing

While waiving Tyler Bey opens up a training camp roster spot for Dante Exum, another move would be necessary to fit in Exum for the season.

The Houston Rockets waived second-year forward Tyler Bey on Friday to facilitate the official signing of Dante Exum, according to the NBA’s official transaction log. Exum’s contract is based heavily on incentives and could be worth up to $15 million over the next three seasons, though each year is non-guaranteed and includes various trigger dates.

The Rockets had signed Bey, who was drafted in the 2020 second round, to a training camp deal last month. But since the Rockets were at the NBA’s maximum offseason roster number of 20 players, someone had to be let go in order for Exum to officially join the team. If Bey is not signed by another team, he could potentially become an option for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s G League affiliate franchise.

It’s worth noting that while Exum can officially report to training camp under this arrangement, another transaction would be needed for Exum to make Houston’s final 2021-22 roster. For the regular season, teams can carry a maximum of 15 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals, and Houston is now at 16 players on standard contracts.

Among players on standard deals, Khyri Thomas is on a non-guaranteed contract and could be a candidate to be waived, depending on his training camp performance relative to Exum. However, freeing up a roster spot via a trade is also a possibility for general manager Rafael Stone.

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Details emerge of Dante Exum’s creative new contract with Rockets

The contract agreement between Dante Exum and the Rockets looks to be very team-friendly, and it could also prove useful in future trades.

Even though veteran NBA guard Dante Exum never played a game for the Rockets after being acquired earlier this year in the blockbuster James Harden trade, Houston inherited his full Bird rights because Exum was in the final season of a multi-year deal.

With a bit of creativity, it appears that second-year general manager Rafael Stone is ready to put those Bird rights — which allow the Rockets to exceed the salary cap to re-sign Exum — to good use.

Via Tim MacMahon of ESPN:

Sources: Rockets and PG Dante Exum are close to agreeing to creatively structured deal that would be three years, nonguaranteed and heavy on incentives that fall under “likely bonuses” definition. Deal would be worth up to about $15M, roughly half of which would be incentives.

Because the incentives would officially be considered likely bonuses, they would be included in outgoing salary if Dante Exum were to be traded. Per sources, incentives discussed are based on Exum’s average minutes and plus-minus in games played.

In short, there’s almost no risk to the Rockets, since each season of the three-year contract is non-guaranteed, and the base salary is a miniscule amount close to the league minimum. If Exum’s salary rises to the maximum amount of approximately $5 million per year — which is still well below the league average — it would be because Exum played well and provided clear on-court value to the team.

Best of all, because the incentives are considered likely under the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA), Exum’s value as outgoing salary in trades would be at the maximum figure of roughly $5 million. Between that decent figure and the reality that Exum’s contract is not guaranteed beyond a given season, Exum would widely be viewed around the league as having an “expiring” contract, which could prove very useful if Stone and the Rockets need to match salaries in a future trade.

Under the current CBA, teams above the league’s salary cap (most teams are, including the Rockets) need to send out close to as much salary as they take in for a trade to be approved. In that capacity, “matching” salaries without any long-term commitment can be very useful. When the salary figures of basketball-based trade proposals aren’t in financial alignment, teams often struggle to find acceptable filler salaries to make the math work, since many franchises don’t want to take back long-term money for a player they didn’t want in the first place. That’s where players on expiring contracts can bridge the gap.

In an ideal world, Exum’s primary value would come as a player for the Rockets. As the No. 5 overall pick from the NBA’s 2014 draft, Exum has long been viewed as an exciting talent with considerable defensive potential, and he’s still young enough at 26 years old to be a fit for a rebuilding team like Houston. The 6-foot-5 guard missed most of the 2020-21 season with a calf injury, but he looked very healthy during a strong showing this offseason with Australia at the Tokyo Olympics, and the Rockets suddenly have available minutes in the backcourt after the decision to part ways with veteran John Wall.

It’s certainly possible that Exum could become a legitimate rotation player in Houston, both in 2021-22 and beyond. But even if that’s not the case, the contract still looks like a win for the team, since there’s no long-term commitment and Exum may still have value as a trade piece.

It’s worth noting that for the Exum deal to be finalized, Stone and the Rockets must make a roster move beforehand, since they’re currently at the NBA’s maximum offseason number of 20 players. As of late Wednesday, there had yet to be a report on what that move would be.

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Report: Dante Exum on verge of contract agreement to rejoin Rockets

Though Exum has yet to play a game for the Rockets, he was on the 2020-21 roster after the James Harden trade and appears poised to return.

The recent context clues were indeed accurate, with veteran guard Dante Exum reportedly on his way back to the Rockets. Exum was on Houston’s roster last season as part of the blockbuster James Harden trade, but he never actually played in a game due to a calf injury.

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, Exum is nearing a deal to rejoin the team. In the aftermath of Houston’s decision to part ways with John Wall, The Athletic’s Alykhan Bijani reported Tuesday that the Rockets had held discussions of late with free agent point guards, including Exum. Now, it appears that those talks have resulted in an agreement.

At the moment, Houston has a completely full offseason roster of 20 players, and the agreement not to play Wall does not clear a roster spot. Thus, for an Exum signing to be finalized, the Rockets would have to let a current player go. As of late Tuesday, it was not clear who that would be.

A 6-foot-5 guard, Exum was the No. 5 pick in the 2014 NBA draft. He was a dynamic perimeter defender over his years in Utah and Cleveland, and at 26 years old, he’s still young enough where that talent could carry over to a stint with the Rockets. Exum’s recent performance at the Tokyo Olympics was well received and may have helped convince NBA teams that his health issues are in the past.

Financial terms of the potential agreement are not clear. However, based on Exum’s lack of health and playing time in the 2020-21 season, it would be a surprise if there was a large amount of guaranteed money.

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Are the Rockets planning to bring back Dante Exum?

Photos appeared to show Dante Exum with the Rockets in The Bahamas, and a report out of Australia suggests that a deal is coming.

At the moment, the Houston Rockets don’t have an open roster spot leading into training camp for the 2021-22 NBA season. That doesn’t mean that they won’t make a transaction to create one, though.

Several clues late in the week seemed to point to a potential reunion between the Rockets and Dante Exum, who was on Houston’s roster last season as part of the blockbuster January 2021 trade of James Harden. However, he never actually played in a game due to a calf injury.

First, social media photos appeared to show Exum with other Houston players as part of the team’s recent trip to The Bahamas for workouts. Then, Felix Von Hofe — a former professional basketball player in Australia and current media member — tweeted that Exum plans to sign with the Rockets “in the next few days.” Exum is from Australia and played for Australia’s team this offseason in the Olympics, so it’s entirely possible that news on his future could break from there.

A 6-foot-5 guard, Exum was the No. 5 overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NBA draft. He was a dynamic perimeter defender over his years in Utah and Cleveland, and at 26 years old, he’s still young enough to where that talent could carry over to a stint with the Rockets. Exum’s recent performance at the Olympics was well received and may have helped convince NBA teams that his health issues are in the past.

Financial terms of the potential agreement are not yet clear. However, based on Exum’s lack of health and playing time in the 2020-21 season, it would be a surprise if there was much guaranteed money, if any.

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