Dante Exum says he will look with his agent to see if Boston Celtics are good option for him

2014 NBA Draft rumors: Dante Exum says he will look with his agent to see if Boston Celtics are good option for him




Dante Exum, from Australia, participates in the three-quarters-court sprint in the 2014 NBA basketball draft combine Friday, May 16, 2014, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Print Jay King | mjking@masslive.com By Jay King | mjking@masslive.com
on May 16, 2014 at 1:12 PM, updated May 16, 2014 at 1:13 PM



CHICAGO, Ill. – As he continues to look for the right fit in the draft, Dante Exum said he has an interview with the Boston Celtics scheduled for later Friday.

The 6-foot-6, Australian guard -- maybe the most likely of any prospect to leap over Joel Embiid, Jabari Parker or Andrew Wiggins into the top three -- made it obvious at the NBA Draft combine that he prefers to play point guard. That could make him a weird fit in Boston, where Rajon Rondo mans the position as the team’s lone All-Star-caliber talent. Exum said some teams have proposed a two-point-guard attack, but with Rondo’s lack of shooting ability that could make for an awkward pairing.

Asked specifically whether Rondo’s presence impacts how he views the Celtics, Exum replied: “It’s looking with my agent to see if that’s a good option for me. We’ll decide and see what other teams have and what other teams offer.”

Thursday, he indicated that playing point guard is not an absolute necessity, but noted that he definitely envisions himself at the position.

Three thoughts:

1) Rondo may or may not be "more available (via trade) than ever before." The Celtics roster is fluid. Fit could change quickly.

2) Depending on what happens with the lottery, the Celtics might not have a chance at Exum regardless of how much they like him or how good a fit he may or may not be.

3) Exum and his agent ultimately will not have the final say in where he lands on draft night. They know that. But they could decline workouts for teams they don’t view as a good fit or otherwise seek to shape where he is drafted.

“I try to ask as many questions as possible just to know what they’re thinking and what direction as an organization they’re going, and how I fit into that,” Exum said. “(Finding the right fit is) probably the No. 1 priority on my list.”

“And saying all this, it is out of my hands,” he added. “But we can definitely try to influence it.”

On a different note, Exum grew up as a big fan of Paul Pierce and noted the Celtics tradition. The Australian said his dad compared him to Pierce as a child; that made Exum want to watch the small forward, and he learned to love how Pierce is a shooter and “always has that mentality to win” – pointing out how badly The Truth wanted to beat the Miami Heat.




bob
MY NOTE:  I don't like this "we'll decide if the Celtics are a good fit for us" crap.  Period.  This is the first bad thing I've read about Exum.


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If it's his apparent presumption that he's in control, Bob, I believe he partially explains that by implying that a draft pick can influence whether or not he's likely to be picked by a team based on whether he agrees to work out for them. Otherwise, if he's set on playing point guard rather than combo guard, the Celtics wouldn't be a good fit for him unless they're committed to jettisoning Rondo—which I don't believe is the case.

I see his true value being indicated not as much by how well he plays PG or SG as whether he can just play the game at a high level regardless of position. I had a similar feeling when they drafted Havlicek and Ramsey before him.

Sam