Minnesota Sports Forum

Yea, that's the one. Or the St John's game?

Duke13 wrote:Yea, that's the one. Or the St John's game?

Are you trying to point out good games or bad games because he had 13/11/4 on 5/7, 0/1, 3/4 in the St. Johns game?

Lip I am glad there are some others that feel similarly to how I do about Dunn. Like I have said for a while I just don't see the terrific upside. DX has something in their summery about how he jumps out at you in person maybe that fools people or maybe I don't get to see it because I not in person. Maybe it's somewhere in the middle.

I will say this for him and the pick. While he does gamble too much etc defensively you can see the ability there coupled with the length and athletic ability on that end. We have seen the progression Ricky has gone through on the defensive end and last year was easily his best playing for Sam who at lest for a chunk of the year really worked on the defensive end (and Sam isn't actually a defensive coach) and I wonder if KG had some good influence on him as well. Rubio said in The Vericle podcast KG was always working with guys last season. Ricky has some special gifts defensively and has nice size for the position. Dunn is bigger and clearly more athletic and you wonder what he could turn into seeing him do some of what he does as a relatively young guy playing for an elite defensive coach.

We do sometimes forget defense is a legit skill attribute that you want.
It is important and I do think Dunn has a great chance to be an asset on that end at this next level. How good can Dunn be on that end? Idk but I could see him being an all NBA defensive team selection someday there is some signs of that.

If Dunn reaches that type of level of defender how good does he need to be offensively to be a good pick? What if Dunn becomes the level of defender of very similarly sized Tony Allen (that's asking a lot) but has lead guard ball handling abilities who also has ability to pass the ball with at least the ability of a good combo guard ability? That's a pretty nice package and we haven't even talked about if Dunn can hit any type of shot.

Q likes Dunn as a "do shit" guy. That's how I see him and he could be one of those elite complimentary guys not a star lead guard. That could be great we could do a lot worse. I'm truly going to let go and just enjoy Dunn as a pick from here on out and as Thibs would say not put a lid on what a guy can do. :)

Nice points, Monster. Although I have some doubts about how good Dunn will ultimately be, I consider him bust proof because of his defensive production in college along with his drive, work ethic, toughness and size (both length and strength). So I see him as you do -- an elite complimentary guy. But I still see potential to be more than that. Like you, I'm done with my Dunn draft critique and I'll just enjoy the ride and hope he becomes a star.

khans2k5 wrote:

Duke13 wrote:Anyone watch the NC tournament game?

The one where he was in foul trouble the first half and still finished with 29/3/3 on 10/16 shooting, 3/5 from 3 and 6/8 from the line in 26 minutes.

Ouch...I wish you guys hadn't brought up the UNC game. That was the only complete Providence game I watched last year, and I wrote off Dunn as a draft candidate after that game. Yes, he got ridiculously hot late in the game after it was over for all intents and purposes, but I would also argue that he lost that game for them. Most of the game he played more like a freshman than a senior. He was out of control the first ten minutes of the game, gambling on defense and not distributing like a PG should, and they were down 7 when he went to the bench with 10 minutes left in the half. Providence actually played better with the backup PG in there, and tied the game up with a couple minutes left in the half. He continued to gamble on defense in the second half, resulting in a lot of easy UNC baskets as they pulled away. He did hit several threes late in the game, but UNC had already put the game away and led by 20 when he got a lot of his points. I'm pretty sure he ended up with more TOs than assists for the game.

He's our guy now, so I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt that he was too hyped up for that game and it didn't represent what he did the rest of the season...but he was not very good that day. It's one of the reasons I am not opposed to trading him this summer if we get a great offer. But if not, I'm hopeful our coaching staff can teach him to play more in control and help him harness his great physical gifts.

You guys are a bunch of Dunn downers. Holy smokes.

Mr. Brightside wrote:You guys are a bunch of Dunn downers. Holy smokes.

Just healthy skepticism, Brightside. I think many here love Dunn's character, size and athleticism, but are tapping the brakes on any talk about moving Rubio right away and letting Dunn run the team. I still think we made the right pick at 5 both because I thought he was BPA and because of apparent interest in him by several other teams, but this kid is going to need some time.

longstrangetrip wrote:

Mr. Brightside wrote:You guys are a bunch of Dunn downers. Holy smokes.

Just healthy skepticism, Brightside. I think many here love Dunn's character, size and athleticism, but are tapping the brakes on any talk about moving Rubio right away and letting Dunn run the team. I still think we made the right pick at 5 both because I thought he was BPA and because of apparent interest in him by several other teams, but this kid is going to need some time.

It's hard to form an opinion of him if you watch a one or two of his games. That's what we're doing here.

I had Hield ranked #1 for the Wolves due to his shooting ability but I had Dunn right behind him (ranked him 1a in another thread). His size and athleticism will give the Wolves something we haven't had at the point guard position in a long time. That has me excited.

His shooting isn't great, but he's already more of a threat than Rubio. His ability to get to the rim and finishing ability is much better than Rubio as well. Dunn's defense is already above average and could become elite. His turnovers are a concern but that could be due to the players he played with and the heavy workload he carried.

Dunn doesn't have to be a "star." He has to be a scoring threat that plays lockdown defense, runs the offense, and leads the team. He'll be able to do all of that in time. We have our super-star in Towns and our budding stars in Wiggins and LaVine. If Dunn is an "elite complimentary player" I will gladly take that.

I'm not in favor of trading Rubio. I'm a Rubiobo and think that would be a mistake. But there's no doubt in my mind Dunn will surpass Rubio whether it be this year or next.

We drafted a good player who, with some refinement, could become really, really good and a great fit on this roster. We should all be extremely excited.

Mr. Brightside wrote:

longstrangetrip wrote:

Mr. Brightside wrote:You guys are a bunch of Dunn downers. Holy smokes.

Just healthy skepticism, Brightside. I think many here love Dunn's character, size and athleticism, but are tapping the brakes on any talk about moving Rubio right away and letting Dunn run the team. I still think we made the right pick at 5 both because I thought he was BPA and because of apparent interest in him by several other teams, but this kid is going to need some time.

It's hard to form an opinion of him if you watch a one or two of his games. That's what we're doing here.

I had Hield ranked #1 for the Wolves due to his shooting ability but I had Dunn right behind him (ranked him 1a in another thread). His size and athleticism will give the Wolves something we haven't had at the point guard position in a long time. That has me excited.

His shooting isn't great, but he's already more of a threat than Rubio. His ability to get to the rim and finishing ability is much better than Rubio as well. Dunn's defense is already above average and could become elite. His turnovers are a concern but that could be due to the players he played with and the heavy workload he carried.

Dunn doesn't have to be a "star." He has to be a scoring threat that plays lockdown defense, runs the offense, and leads the team. He'll be able to do all of that in time. We have our super-star in Towns and our budding stars in Wiggins and LaVine. If Dunn is an "elite complimentary player" I will gladly take that.

I'm not in favor of trading Rubio. I'm a Rubiobo and think that would be a mistake. But there's no doubt in my mind Dunn will surpass Rubio whether it be this year or next.

We drafted a good player who, with some refinement, could become really, really good and a great fit on this roster. We should all be extremely excited.

Finally someone with an opion who's not interested in hedging your bet or playing the odds with Dunn. Well posted.

Well said Brightside. I just watched the G-Town road game. Worth the watch. I don't care what his turnover numbers are, he has no issues with his handle or decision making.
I get it, most people on here are HUGE Rubio supporters, that's understandable. Rubio is easy for a fanbase to cheer for and become attached to, he plays hard, charismatic, and has an entertaining game.

A good friend of mine and his family are season ticket holders, have been since the inaugural season. I text him the day of the draft asking him if he was going to the draft party, he wasn't but said his two 9th grade twins were in NY for the draft with their grandfather. So I was exchanging a few texts with them throughout the evening. Prior to the draft they both said they want anyone but Dunn, I didn't state my views on why I think we need Dunn. But when we picked Dunn, I could feel the disappointment with both of them and it's because they love Rubio. I actually kind of felt bad. I get the same feeling with most on this board.
Dunn will be ready to start on this team coming opening night. That may or may not happening. I'm a huge Dunn guy, have been for for awhile, so it's possible my judgement is clouded like I'm saying some of yours are regarding Rubio. Watch the GT game and tell me his not ready to play big NBA minutes.