David Hume
Well-Known Member
Infection, I know my post is belated, and I regret that. Let me say that your post, your thread, is outstanding. I wish I could see this type of creativity in some of the people I work with.
The Jazz continue their home stand Thursday night as the Phoenix Suns roll into town, accompanied by Exum-injurer-extraordinaire TJ Warren. Currently on a 7-game winning streak, the Jazz will be out for blood, as well as a chance to continue to advance in playoff standings. The Suns are currently in second place in the tanking standings, but they arrive with personal (and personnel) vendetta. TJ Warren has sidelined Dante Exum until Thursday’s game. But why?
Dante Exum
The Utah Jazz, captained by now Suns assistant Ty Corbin, led a one-year tank in the 2013-2014 season to land the #5 pick. Corbin, fitting the definition of a useful idiot, assisted the tank as he attempted to implement winning strategy. He was released that off-season and the Jazz selected young Australian Dante Exum.
Dante started 41 games his rookie year and looked poised to make a jump in his sophomore season before being sidelined the entire year after blowing out his ACL in international play. His return from injury found himself on the bench, inexplicably, until now.
Rumors and rumblings abound of Gordon Hayward’s dissatisfaction with Dante, preferring college pal Mack, and not wanting the Aussie to get any burn.
Off the court, Dante saw an ugly side of Hayward. Not just a dark side, but a huge douche waffle side. Exum knew of Hayward’s impending plan to screw the Jazz and reunite with his college flame.
Dante was concerned with how this ultimate revelation would affect Jazz Nation, and couldn’t bear the thought of the entire Wasatch Front being burned so badly, so he presented himself as a sacrifice by taking the fall of Jazz woes.
Dante had to feign inexperience to ensure he found himself on the bench, as a peace-keeping measure to appease a man who could have only been the Robin to Dante’s Batman.
As the events of the summer of 2017 unfolded and as Utah sought healing, new perspectives arose regarding Exum. With a good summer league under his belt with his backcourt partner, Dante was poised to rise out of the shadows.
Enter TJ Warren
In an October matchup against the Suns, Dante started to hear rumblings around the locker room that he was going to be taken out. Uncertain of these threats, he proceeded with taking the floor but was greeted by TJ Warren.
Warren: “You think the bench is your ally. But you merely adopted the bench; I was born in it, moulded by it. I didn't see playing time until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but blinding!”
Dante, knowing this was getting personal, continued to listen to the tirade:
Warren: “You think you are about to rise out of the shadows, but I am the shadows, and I'm here to fulfill Raja Ghul's destiny!”
Warren: “I’ll show you where I’ve made my home while preparing to bring justice. Then I will break you. After I destroy Utah and the Jazz, then you will have my permission to die.”
Dante, enraged, attempted to channel his frustration into physical aggression against TJ, but ultimately found himself vulnerable for the breaking drop:
Dante’s Inferno
Now incarcerated in the depths of hell, where outside is inscribed “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here,” Dante has to heal himself with the hope of escaping his dark prison. While there, he learns that only one person has been able to escape — a child born there in the darkness — a child of a mercenary.
As he strives for freedom, he has to pass through the 9 circles of hell before he can escape. “Having to repeatedly watch Shelvin Mack play, especially in the playoffs, was the most challenging circle of hell — bar none — that I had to pass through,” recalls Exum.
As Dante writhes in pain from his shoulder and its barbaric prison treatment, he begins to catch a glimpse of Raja Ghul himself.
Raja Ghul: Did you not think I would return? I told you I was immortal.
Dante: I watched you get waived by the Jazz.
Raja Ghul: There are many forms of immortality...
Dante: You are the mercenary... Warren is your child.
Raja Ghul: I am here to ensure that the Phoenix Suns fulfill its duty to restore balance to the NBA. You, yourself, fought the decadence of Utah for years with all your strength, all your resources, all your moral authority and the only victory you achieved was a lie. Now you understand Utah is beyond saving and must be allowed to die.
As Dante has passed through the 9 circles of hell and ascended back to his freedom in mortality, he returns to protect his city and his team. When he was cleared to face off against TJ Warren again, he received a personal message and threat, from one claiming that he — not TJ Warren — was the child of Raja Ghul.
Corbin reveals himself as the executor of the Raja Ghul estate, seeking to extract revenge on the franchise and expose himself as the TJ Warren puppet master, and looks to finish the job. “No lottery pick earned through my labors should be seeing minutes in any game,” Corbin exclaims.
As Corbin, Warren, and the spirit of Raja Ghul descend upon Salt Lake City to attempt its final destruction...
Oh, and I will acquiesce and provide a game thread girl. If we lose, it’s on you guys.
