Jazz publicly support international play despite Exum injury
The Utah Jazz are in the middle of a rebuild that's seen the team gather some impressive talent under coach Quin Snyder. That's one of the reasons the apparent injury to Dante Exum while playing for his home country of Australia could hurt so much; the future was bright for this team.
It still is, to be fair. The extent of Exum's injury is so far unknown. But even if it's a serious problem, that won't change the way the Jazz look at their young players participating in international play during the summer.
Jazz president Randy Rigby told Utah radio station "The Zone" that the team will continue to support its young guys in international competition -- and that if anything, Rigby has become more accepting of players operating outside the Jazz's watchful eye during the summer:
"I have been one who has kind of changed my attitude to be supportive of our players playing internationally," Rigby said. "Especially our young players. It's a good opportunity for them to really develop their game and continue their development."
The fact remains that there's not a ton of time during the NBA season for structured learning and development. Much of a player's growth comes through individual sessions with a coach, not in a team environment. On that point, Rigby is correct; international play can go a long way toward a player's development.
But that doesn't change how much it hurts when a player such as Exum goes down in a game where he's wearing a different jersey.
(h/t Yahoo! New Zealand)
