Once considered an unknown, Australian point guard Dante Exum has shot up draft boards in recent weeks.
Exum is now widely considered to be one of the four best players in the draft along with Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker. However, most people still don’t have him going any higher than fourth to the Orlando Magic because of the hype surrounding the other three prospects.
Not so fast, says ESPN’s Chad Ford. According to ESPN’s resident NBA Draft expert, Exum could go as high as the second pick in the upcoming draft.
“I think the Bucks, Sixers and Magic all really like Exum and there’s a chance he lands with each team. The Magic really need a point guard and have liked Exum all year… it’s also possible Exum slides. The reason he hasn’t scheduled other workouts, I think he’s confident Boston or LA would for sure take him.”
Seeing Exum go ahead of the much-hyped Wiggins and Parker would be a shock to many. But it’s not often a point guard prospect with Wiggins size and length comes around, and teams are definitely intrigued.
It’s still pretty early in the process as Exum has workouts scheduled with the above teams, so we will probably have a better gauge on the likelihood of him jumping the super freshman in the draft. But things seem to definitely be looking up for the Australian.