Utah Jazz backup point guard Dante Exum might miss the entire 2017-18 season after he suffered a serious shoulder injury in their 112-101 win over the Phoenix Suns in their Friday’s preseason outing at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City.

The Salt Lake Tribune's Tony Jones reported that Exum separated his left shoulder and sustained ligament damage that will sideline him for a “significant amount of time.”

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com, Exum’s injury was serious enough that he could miss the entire season. After the game, Jazz head coach Quin Snyder described Exum’s injury as “wasn’t good”.

The coach added that Exum will undergo MRI to determine the extent of the damage of the point guard’s injury. The 22-year-old Exum missed the 2015-16 season due to a torn ACL that he sustained while playing for the Australian national team.

Exum expected to backup Ricky Rubio

The fifth overall pick by the Jazz in the 2014 NBA draft, Exum averaged 4.8 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in his rookie year. After missing the 2015-16 season, he bounced back last season with averages of 6.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Exum displayed his fine form in the NBA Summer League, averaging 20.0 points, 6.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game.

Exum was expected to back up starting point guard Ricky Rubio.

With Exum out, Raul Neto could step into the backup role if he’s fully healthy. Neto missed action during the preseason with a quad injury. If Neto is unavailable, rookie Donovan Mitchell could perform some playmaking duties for the Jazz’s second unit. Rubio was traded by the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Jazz for a 2018 first-round pick.

Mavs’ Seth Curry week-to-week with leg injury

The Dallas Mavericks announced that shooting guard Seth Curry suffered a leg injury and is considered week-to-week. Mavs play-by-play announcer Chuck Cooperstein reported that Curry suffered a stress fracture in his left tibia. Curry was expected to step up as a major contributor for the Mavericks after averaging 12.8 points, 2.7 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 70 games, with 42 starts, last season.

Curry, 27, made 48.1 percent of his attempts from the field and 42.5 percent of his shots from beyond the three-point range last season. Curry spent time as a point guard last season, but with the arrival of rookie playmaker Dennis Smith Jr., the former Duke star will return to his old position where he will back up starter Wesley Matthews.
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