Rio Olympics not out of the question for Dante Exum

Despite having missed the entire 2015/16 NBA season with an ACL injury, Dante Exum has not ruled out suiting up in the green and gold for the Boomers in Rio.

“It’s still an option,” he said on the Believe the Hype NBA podcast today.

“Where I’m at in my rehab I just need to continue to keep making strides but that’s something we’re going to come across when it comes up.”

Exum’s participation at the Games is unlikely, given he has not played a competitive game since injuring his knee playing for the Boomers last year against Slovenia, but as his rehab enters the final stages, he revealed he is hoping to be cleared for full contact later this week.

“I’m pretty much in the last part of my rehab, I got an appointment on the 26th that’s going to clear me for everything.

“But I’ve been pretty much doing a lot of the normal stuff, day-to-day stuff except for playing, that’s the biggest thing I haven’t kind of picked up yet, but starting May 26th I’ll start to play one-one-one, two-on-two and stuff like that.”

For the Jazz, there are obvious reservations about his participation as they would ideally like to make sure he is definitely at 100% for training camp which begins in September after the Games.

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However there is some argument for him going, if he is given the 100% green light from medical staff. Using the Olympics to get some run back in his legs and putting him back in competitive game situations in August could prove beneficial for the Jazz. And definitely for the Boomers if they can add to their already talented point guard stocks.

Potential no. 1 pick in the 2016 draft Ben Simmons has already withdrawn from the Olympic team to focus on the draft process, something Exum has been helping the former LSU Tiger adjust to.

“It’s just little things here and there. He came to me when talking about agents and I just gave him a bit of advice on that and then also his draft workouts, what to expect and the biggest thing he was kind of about was ‘what’s draft night like?’, so I just gave him my two cents from my experience with it.

“When I was with him a couple weeks ago, I mean he seemed totally cool about it and obviously he knows kind of being up there in the draft that high that its obviously going to come with a lot of attention, but when I was with him it was just normal Ben.”

“I think he’s going to end up in a good place wherever it is and I have no doubts that he will be doing good next year."

So do the Lakers and Sixers.