Utah Jazz: Dante Exum injures knee while playing for Australia

Utah Jazz point guard Dante Exum suffered a knee injury while playing for his native Australia on Tuesday and will return to Salt Lake City for further examination by team doctors.

Exum, 20, was playing for his native Australia in an exhibition in Slovenia when he drove into the paint, planted his leg and suddenly stopped his drive as his left knee apparently gave way. The guard returned to the bench in the second half wearing street clothes and a heavy wrap on his knee.

The extent of Exum's injury has yet to be revealed and, until it is, it will cast a shadow of doubt on the Jazz's short-term prospects while rekindling the ongoing debate over NBA athletes' participation in international play.

Exum, the fifth overall pick in the 2014 draft, won Utah's starting job midway through his rookie season despite his offensive shortcomings, using his speed and superior size at the position to help Utah become the league's best defense in the second half en route to a 19-10 record after the All-Star break. The point guard's development over the past year and especially this summer promised to be a key factor in the Jazz's chances of reaching the playoffs next season.

In his first and only summer league action, Exum gave fans reason for hope, scoring 20 points to go with five rebounds and five assists in the game against the Boston Celtics before going down with a sprained left ankle.

Now another injury has put Exum's status in question, and it will undoubtedly raise more questions about players' international commitments on top of the demands of the NBA season.

In addition to Exum, the Jazz could have as many as seven other players involved with their national teams on one level or another this summer: Gordon Hayward (USA), Trey Burke (USA), Rudy Gobert (France), Tibor Pleiss (Germany), Raul Neto (Brazil), Trey Lyles (Canada) and Olivier Hanlan (Canada).

General manager Dennis Lindsey told 1280 AM last week that summertime basketball, from pickup games to international duty, can be both a cause for concern and a boon for a franchise.

"Look, I'm protective by nature. You not only are protecting the Jazz interest, you become quite fond of your own guys and somewhat fatherly," he said. "It's one of the reasons why we've made offseason basketball in Salt Lake City important because I know it's a safe haven. It's under our doctors' and trainers' care being in our facility and they're playing guys who aren't trying to prove a point in pickup play against NBA players."

Lindsey continued, "There's a lot of variety of opinions about what should or shouldn't happen in international play. Clearly [Dallas Mavericks owner] Mark Cuban has stated a case [against international play for NBA athletes], and in many ways he's right. There's also a responsibility that each player feels in loyalty toward their home country and many times the pressure on the player and his family is quite great. And there's also common sense regarding a players schedule and load and … we were beneficiaries of some of some of our young players in San Antonio and Houston developing because of their national team."

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Twitter: @tribjazz