Minnesota Sports Forum

Yeah, Wojnarowski reported a couple weeks ago that Dunn was not going to work out for or share records with either Phoenix or Boston. His agent said he preferred to go to a team that didn't have young talent at PG, so many assumed his preferred destination was the Pelicans at 6. But now MikeAZ provides more information that his first choice is the Wolves. I have several reactions:

1) Like Monster, I'm somewhat offended by these young athletes who think they can dictate where they go...seems to reek of an entitled personality.

2) On the other hand, it feels kind of good to hear a player say he really wants to come to Minnesota...we seem to be on the other end of that equation more frequently.

3) On still another hand (gonna have to borrow one), I feel like he is dissing Rubio by saying he doesn't want to compete with a talented young PG and then saying he wants to come to Minny. Kind of pisses me off (and probably really pisses Ricky off)

4) It's very odd to me that a player would try to rig the system in order to move down 1 or 2 spots. the difference between the 3rd pick and the 5th is about $700K per year...that's a lot of financial security to give up.

5) Maybe he just doesn't like that awful climate in Phoenix and is willing to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of dollars to avoid it.

All that said, everything I have heard about Dunn is that he is a terrific person. I went to college in the town he is from and still have a lot of close contacts there, and they have told me his life story...it's an interesting one to say the least. I still don't think he's the best pick for us, but there are a lot worse outcomes than landing a great athlete who is also an exceptional guy.

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/sports/sixers/With-the-No-1-pick-the-76ers-select--Jamal-Murray.html?mobi=true

Marc Eversley, the Philadelphia 76ers' vice president of player personnel:

"Jamal Murray, we certainly got a chance to see him a couple of weeks ago. He's certainly going to be one of those kids who's going to be in contention for the No. 1 pick."

"We like him a lot. He's going to bring a lot to wherever he goes in the NBA, certainly a talent."

From the article:

"Some within the Sixers organization believe that he has the biggest upside of any of the draft prospects."

I doubt the Sixers choose anyone other than Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram with the first overall pick, but I just wanted to share the link to show that I'm not the only one who's very high on Jamal Murray. He's an exciting talent that has excelled in every level of competition thus far from HS to winning MVP at the Nike Hoops Summit to leading Canada to second-place at the Pan American Games as an 18-year old and then carrying an inconsistent Kentucky team to the second round of the NCAA tournament. I'm not telling any of you that he's a for sure star player or anything of that sort, but I do think some of you should be more open to the idea of adding him to our roster.

longstrangetrip wrote:Yeah, Wojnarowski reported a couple weeks ago that Dunn was not going to work out for or share records with either Phoenix or Boston. His agent said he preferred to go to a team that didn't have young talent at PG, so many assumed his preferred destination was the Pelicans at 6. But now MikeAZ provides more information that his first choice is the Wolves. I have several reactions:

1) Like Monster, I'm somewhat offended by these young athletes who think they can dictate where they go...seems to reek of an entitled personality.

2) On the other hand, it feels kind of good to hear a player say he really wants to come to Minnesota...we seem to be on the other end of that equation more frequently.

3) On still another hand (gonna have to borrow one), I feel like he is dissing Rubio by saying he doesn't want to compete with a talented young PG and then saying he wants to come to Minny. Kind of pisses me off (and probably really pisses Ricky off)

4) It's very odd to me that a player would try to rig the system in order to move down 1 or 2 spots. the difference between the 3rd pick and the 5th is about $700K per year...that's a lot of financial security to give up.

5) Maybe he just doesn't like that awful climate in Phoenix and is willing to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of dollars to avoid it.

All that said, everything I have heard about Dunn is that he is a terrific person. I went to college in the town he is from and still have a lot of close contacts there, and they have told me his life story...it's an interesting one to say the least. I still don't think he's the best pick for us, but there are a lot worse outcomes than landing a great athlete who is also an exceptional guy.

I think it's about playing time immediately. That's something he likely won't get if he's drafted by Boston or Phoenix. Simply looking at both teams' rosters, you can see they're both loaded in the backcourt. Boston has Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, and Marcus Smart. Phoenix has Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, and Devin Booker. What about Minnesota? Well, after Ricky Rubio and Zach LaVine, who is there that has a firm hold of a rotation spot? I'd answer nobody. Just like a high school player being recruited by colleges, one of the most important things to that player is immediate playing time. I can't blame Dunn and his agent for looking at the Wolves backcourt personnel and thinking it's an attractive destination for him to compete for a rotation spot even as a rookie.

Also, why couldn't Dunn just want to be a part of the stellar young nucleus that's already assembled? Who wouldn't want to come play with Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, Ricky Rubio, and Gorgui Dieng.

Lastly, Dunn's been super vocal about how he enjoys defending. He's said that he takes pride in that aspect of the game. Perhaps he just wants to play and learn under Tom Thibodeau since defense is arguably his most attractive, most NBA-ready skill?

Basically, I don't blame him for eyeing Minnesota as a good fit, good landing spot for his talents. He's not an arrogant kid and has worked his ass off throughout his entire life to get to this point. If you haven't seen the ESPN segment discussing his upbringing and hardships he's persevered through, I highly recommend you do so. His mother took him and his brother away from their father and didn't tell the father where they were going. They lived very poor and the mother was eventually arrested a couple times for robbery and whatnot. So, in an attempt to avoid being separated, the brothers didn't tell anyone that they were living by themselves. Kris' older brother took care of him and made sure he had enough to live on. Thankfully, the father tracked them down and took them back under his watch. It was his father that got him into sports. He's had to deal with the death of his mother as a young man. He also had to come back from a shoulder injury that cost him his sophomore year at Providence. Kris is a fighter who has answered the call of life time and time again. He doesn't seem like the entitled type. This is strictly business and situation.

Anybody else think the length of this thread is getting ridiculous and it might be better to start using multiple threads on more specific aspects of the draft? It's tough to find certain parts of such a long thread, and it feels like discussion topics don't get developed enough because it's like there's two or three conversations going on at any given time.

I wonder if it's coming from Dunn or his agent. There is a difference there.

SameOldNudityDrew wrote:Anybody else think the length of this thread is getting ridiculous and it might be better to start using multiple threads on more specific aspects of the draft? It's tough to find certain parts of such a long thread, and it feels like discussion topics don't get developed enough because it's like there's two or three conversations going on at any given time.

Let's revisit that thought when we get to about 200 pages...

longstrangetrip wrote:
Let's revisit that thought when we get to about 200 pages...

So Monday?

Good takes on Dunn, Cam.

Yes, that's the story my friends in New London told me about his background...I didn't know ESPN had covered it. His dad is a very well-respected guy in town, as is his older brother. Seems like a high quality guy. And I think you're right. Even though some news outlets have used this as a sideways shot at Rubio, I agree that it's more about playing time...few teams are as set at PG as the Suns and Celtics. Still, it's odd to try to manage your way out of almost $700K per year. Can you imagine doing that, and then sustaining an injury where you never get another contract...seems like a big risk. Dunn and his agent have to know Boston and Phoenix wouldn't use a 3rd or 4th pick unless they had a clear plan for him...maybe they have something in place to trade him to a team that needs him more, or trade one of the existing PG's on their rosters. Just seems like an odd financial move to me. But again, this is a guy who could have come out last year as a high pick, but elected to stay in college one more year.

bleedspeed177 wrote:

longstrangetrip wrote:
Let's revisit that thought when we get to about 200 pages...

So Monday?

:thumb:

I've been wanting Hield so far, but I've started liking what I see in Dunn. I think Hield's ability to stretch the floor is special and would really help our spacing on offense. Hield's improvement and work ethic bode well for his defense and overall impact too. And when I look at numbers, they point to Hield.

But watching video of Dunn makes clear the guy also has NBA talent. Somebody mentioned seeing shades of Rondo, Wall, and Wade. I'dd add Iman Shumpert, Oladipo, Tony Allen, maybe a bit of AJ Price, and a touch of Westbrook (especially his intensity). He could be a really good player, and I'd love to have that kind of athleticism and intensity on both ends, but I worry about the shooting.

Still, one should usually go with numbers over highlight reels, right? And it's not like Hield looks bad in highlights. I'm starting to think both of these guys (I haven't researched Murray that much yet) might not actually be THAT far behind Simmons and Ingram. At least, I'm starting to get a little more excited about the possibility of adding one of them.

I still think we should split up this thread! :)