SALT LAKE CITY — Dante Exum tore his ACL playing international basketball for the Australian National Team.

It was a friendly exhibition game that will alter the future of the Utah Jazz, or at the very least delay Exum's development for another year. While a time-table has yet to be set for Exum's rehab, it seems doubtful that he will suit up for the Jazz in the 2015-16 NBA season.

While the loss of Exum is painful, since he was projected to be the Jazz starter at point guard, there are other reasons to be optimistic about the team this season, and potential for this team to continue its pattern of growth despite the offseason loss.

The rookies

Trey Lyles was the 12th pick in the draft, and while it's unlikely that he plays a huge role on this roster behind Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert and Trevor Booker, there is still reason for optimism. Lyles struggled in the Las Vegas summer league before his final appearance, in which he scored 20 points, grabbed nine rebounds and converted four of his seven 3-point attempts. Despite shooting poorly during most of his summer league games, Lyles displayed an above average passing game that should open up aspects of the Jazz offense that fans have yet to realize.

Raul Neto and Tibor Pleiss will join the Jazz this season, both experienced pros making their NBA debuts in Utah. Neto wowed Jazz fans in the 2013 Orlando summer league with his creative ball handling and ability to find his teammates as a distributor, while Pleiss has been one of the top international big men for several seasons. Pleiss is incredibly large, standing 7-foot-3, and he has a unique offensive skill set for a player his size. As talented as Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors are defensively, they lack the offensive punch to push the Jazz to the next level, something Pleiss could provide during needed stretches.

The veterans

It's strange to call a group of players 25 years old and younger veterans, but that is the reality of this Jazz team. Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Trevor Booker are entering their sixth seasons in the NBA, while Alec Burks enters his fifth. All four are expected to be mainstays in Quin Snyder's rotation, and should be truly entering their primes as the Jazz contend for a playoff spot.

Related:

Jazz confirm the worst: Dante Exum has torn ACL

The Utah Jazz confirmed today what the team and fans had feared: that point guard Dante Exum has a torn ACL in his left knee.

Hayward has increased his scoring average by at least two points in each of the first five seasons of his career, giving Jazz fans hope that with another .07 points per game, he can climb over the 20 points per game hurdle. Favors averaged 16 points per game last season, providing the Jazz with a legit third option as a scorer and a defensive stalwart to boot.

Booker may be in the final year of his contract with the Jazz, but he developed a promising 3-point shot last season, potentially providing the Jazz with the versatile backup big man they haven't seen since letting Paul Millsap walk in free agency in 2013.

Burks returns from a nagging shoulder injury that has bother him since playing college basketball at Colorado, an injury that clearly affected his ability to finish at the rim last season. Despite the injury, Burks led the team in 3-point shooting percentage at a respectable 38 percent on two and a half attempts per game. If Burks continues that trend, and can regain his ability to finish at the rim, he should be a leading candidate to be the Jazz's second scoring option, even if he finds himself coming off the bench.

The developers

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this team, despite losing Exum, is this group of second year and third year players is as good as any in the league. Led by Rudy Gobert and Rodney Hood, this young group, also including Trey Burke, Bryce Cotton and Joe Ingles, may be the difference between another 38-win team and a run to the Western Conference playoffs.

Gobert is the best young center in the league and a potential frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year if he continues to produce at the rate he provided for the Jazz last season.

Hood battled injuries throughout multiple stretches as a rookie, but when he was healthy, he was borderline spectacular. After the All-Star break, Hood shot over 40 percent from the 3-point line and looked like a multi-skilled scoring option perfectly suited to spread the floor for Favors and Gobert down low. Cotton and Burke will be called on to fill the void left in Exum's injury wake, while Ingles will need to provide veteran leadership and unselfish play to keep this young team on course for the postseason.

The loss of Exum is a big one, not just on the floor this season, but for the long-term development of a team that will have to find a way to pay all of these young players to keep them together for the long haul. But despite losing the player with arguably the highest ceiling on the roster, the mixture of rookies, youth and veteran players on this team should give Jazz fans hope for the 2015-16 NBA season.

Ben Anderson is the co-host of Gunther in the Afternoon with Kyle Gunther on 1320 KFAN from 3-7, Monday through Friday. Read Ben's Utah Jazz blog at 1320kfan.com, and follow him on Twitter @BenKFAN.

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