monsterpile wrote:At this point if feels to me Dunn is a key to this team going forward because right now PG play is a concern. Dunn hasn't been amazing but I think he clearly has been much more comfortable offensively the last few games and that jumper is looking a hell of a lot better.
So what kind of player is Dunn gonna be for us? Cam I know you had liked Dunn a lot last year at one point. Do you have any thoughts on what you can hope he can become for this team?
Meanwhile some other young PGs are struggling. Mudiay can't hit a shot and I saw an article saying his net rating is terrible and suggested some other guard I won't name should be playing PG for that team.
Elfrid Payton has lost his starting spot to DJ Augustine.
MCW is still injured.
Jerian Grant Was a guy I liked a lot and his career hasn't been remotely successful.
Why mention all these guys? Well they are all guys with some pretty nice talent at this position coming out of the draft and right now some of them probably look closer to backups than starters although it's still early for a couple of them. Some of them have had some actual success though before seeming to fade. What will Dunn's fate be?
What do all the young PGs in your post have in common?
In response to the original question: I have no idea. The good thing is he has demonstrated some improvement. I could give a more provocative response to this one year from today.
CoolBreeze44 wrote:In response to the original question: I have no idea. The good thing is he has demonstrated some improvement. I could give a more provocative response to this one year from today.
That is my opinion too. I like the effort he shows not only on defense but also rebounding. It seems like twice a game he either skies for a rebound in the paint or gets fouled without a call by someone going over his back. His jumper looks like a work in progress at best. He needs serious work on his handle too. He seems to have good body control when he does get near the hoop.
I'm not as worried about Dunn as some other recent Wolves busts. Bennett, Smilin' Wes, and Caged Lion Williams all seemed to suffer from the same disease of just not giving a crap. I don't get that with Dunn. The bigger concern is that he becomes the PG version of Brewer, giving great effort but unable to shoot or make great decisions.
It would be great if Dunn worked out in the summer with Drew Hanlen along with Wigs & LaVine. That guy seems to be doing a great job developing their skills. Need to see more north/south drives by Dunn and less east/west noodling around.
One thing I was noticing about Dunn in the GS game was when he was handling the ball it seemed like it was in a more enclosed space. That's one of the issues I had with Dunn in college was he was too loose with his handle but it was just way away from his body. There are moves to utilize where the ball is away from your body but you don't have as much control if it is always way out there and its much easier to take the ball away from a player like that. I'll be watching to see if that was a real thing or not.
The thing I can't get over is how many basketball people whether NBA team employees, players, fans, media types (some who I think have a clue what they are talking about) just rave about the guy. I never got why exactly except he seems like a great guy that's gonna play hard and easy to cheer for etc. Could so many people be wrong? I'd like to be wrong and he turns into a stud. fortunately for this team he doesn't have to become awesome he can become just a really solid PG that would be good enough especially if he is one of the top defenders at that position.
I know Dunn hasn't been that impressive this season so far and it is concerning but I think its a little early to give up on the guy. We like to make our best predictions about how different players are going to improve but the reality is some guys improve regardless of what they did before and other guys don't. Its an educated guess. NOBODY saw Curry improving like he did. Derrick Williams sucks and there were some saying he should have gone #1 in that draft. I think it was Mannix the other day that made a point about how Michael Redd really wasn't a shooter in college and left the NBA known as a really good shooter. I don't want to make it sound like I am being too optimistic, but I also feel like some have already given up on Dunn already. I get why, but I think like some of the other posters have said in this thread lets see what we have through this year and make some more informed decisions on his abilities.
I think Dunn is a great fit for this team moving forward. He's not the perfect fit, but he's a really good defender already and the offensive game is starting to slow down for him. I think he's the starting point for a very good PnR defense with his ability to fight through screens which is a major plus in today's game and it's something Ricky has always been bad at. He's starting to put more pressure on defenses getting to the paint and hitting some runners. That's going to open up his game once he starts learning how to pass effectively while he's putting pressure on the D without turning it over. Looking at Tyus now to last year and you can see big improvements. I think Dunn should get the same chance.
I may have been the biggest "Draft Dunn" supporter. He has disappointed thus far but it is plenty early. Remember, he played one full season at pg in college. 2 were split at SG, one season was nearly all off the ball. One full season missed due to injury.
His defense was always there. Vision, handle, and passing are coming.
His overall scoring ability potential is far beyond rubios. That should not be a debate.
I still see top 10 overall pg in the league in a couple years.
I get providing excuses/reasons as to why your guy has struggled -- trust me, I've done it -- but Kris Dunn exclusively played point guard for Providence his junior and senior seasons. He's just having a tough time adjusting to the speed of the NBA game, which is normal for rookies. It's way too early to panic, though, especially when his defense has been as good as advertised. You just have to hope his jumper progresses to "serviceable" and he starts understanding how to initiate basic NBA offensive sets.
Future is right on this one...Dunn did not play much PG at all last year. Once Ed Cooley saw how superior Cartwright was in running the offense and protecting the ball, he moved Dunn to SG and he excelled there at both ends of the court. Dunn started most games at PG, but Cartwright played 24 MPG...and his minutes were exclusively at the point. In the games I watched, Dunn's PG minutes were limited to a few possessions at the start of each half...and it was clear that the offense ran much better when both Cartwright and Dunn were on the floor.
That's why I would like to see the Wolves give Dunn a chance to play 35 minutes every game at PG in the D League to see if he can figure out the position. I love the kid's potential, but I still don't know if he will ever protect the ball well enough to star as a PG...right now I rank him as the 4th (or 5th?) best PG on this team.
Camden0916 wrote:I get providing excuses/reasons as to why your guy has struggled -- trust me, I've done it -- but Kris Dunn exclusively played point guard for Providence his junior and senior seasons. He's just having a tough time adjusting to the speed of the NBA game, which is normal for rookies. It's way too early to panic, though, especially when his defense has been as good as advertised. You just have to hope his jumper progresses to "serviceable" and he starts understanding how to initiate basic NBA offensive sets.
This just isn't true. I watched several Providence games his senior season and he played a ton off the ball and guarding opposing wings. His primary position was PG, but he played way too much off the the ball to say he was exclusively their PG because they didn't play him that way.
