The Utah Jazz selected Dante Exum with the fifth pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
Dante Exum is from the Australian Institute of Sport and despite the fact that the Jazz acquired a talented point guard in last year’s draft in Trey Burke the selected the talented guard with their first pick. When asked about playing alongside Burke, Exum said that he knows it will take some give-and-take from both guards.
The Utah Jazz went 25-27 last season, which was the worst record in the Western Conference. The team recently fired former head coach Tyrone Corbin and hired former Atlanta Hawks assistant coach Quin Snyder to replace him. Snyder inherits a roster with a lot of young talent, including Gordon Hayward, Trey Burke, Derrick Favors, Alec Burks and Enes Kanter.
The Jazz took with their 23rd pick Rodney Hood from Duke University. Hood was projected as a potential late lottery pick, but was passed over by several teams, allowing the Jazz to get him with their second first round pick in the 2014 draft.
“With Dante and Rodney, we’re excited,” Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey said. “They’re excellent players, but they’re better young men and we feel, literally, that there couldn’t have been two better fits for the Jazz organization and what we stand for.”