NBA Draft 2014: Dante Exum "strongly leaning toward" declaring, according to report

Citing "sources," ESPN.com scribe Chad Ford reported Monday in an online chat that Australian combo guard Dante Exum could forego the NCAA and instead declare directly for the 2014 NBA Draft.

Exum, 18, wowed NBA scouts at the FIBA U19 Championship for Men in 2013, averaging 18.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists on 44.6 percent shooting from the field, including 52.9 percent on two-pointers. The 6-foot-6 prospect figures to be able to play either guard spot in the NBA. According to Ford, Exum could be the top overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft, should he enter it.

The Orlando Magic own two first-round picks in 2014--their own plus the WonK selection--though they would need an exceptionally high one in order to land Exum.

In Nik Vučević, Tobias Harris, Andrew Nicholson, and Maurice Harkless, Orlando has four excellent frontcourt prospects, and it used the second overall pick in the 2013 Draft to add combo guard Victor Oladipo to that core. Exum, or another high-caliber perimeter player, could be the next man to join the group as Orlando works its way back toward NBA prominence.

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