Kris Dunn is gonna be...

[Monster]

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?

[TAFKASP]

Who knows? We all thought Rubio would become an at least passable shooter but instead he gets worse. We all expected Wiggins to be a great defender and make his teammates better, but he's been suspect at best on defense and while he can score in volume he doesn't really make those around him better. I'll tell you this, my fear with Dunn is he'll turn out to be not even a better Rubio, great on defense but with an inconsistent to flat out broken shot, but unlike Rubio he won't have the natural ability of a 1 guard.

My enthusiasm has been entirely shattered this season, it sucks.

[bleedspeed]

I think we will be drafting a PG again next summer. I hope we trade Rubio before then.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

...a combo guard off the bench. Very good defender and slasher who will never shoot or distribute well enough to be a starting PG.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Ehh, I'll revisit this in the off-season. I don't wanna cap him before I've seen enough to make that call. He's been pretty shaky thus far, though.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

The thing about Dunn though is that he was supposed to be NBA-ready, right? 4 years of D-1 college ball and the lead dog for his team, yet he often looks lost as an NBA PG. God, if only we could fuse Tyus Jones, Kris Dunn, and Ricky Rubio into one player!

That being said, go look at Draymond Green's rookie year - and he was also a 4-year stud out of MSU. U-G-L-Y. Then within a couple years he became one of the best all-around players in the game. How the hell did that happen?

It never seems to happen here, but hopefully Dunn miraculously discovers a half-way decent outside shot because I think Thibs' strategy is to not be overly reliant on a ball dominant PG. He just needs a guy that can defend, hit wide open shots, and get the offense set up. I think Dunn can ultimately do two of those things well. Not sure about the outside shot.....

[Monster]

I'll throw out Dunn's December numbers

6 Games
17.7mpg
3.2-5.7 .559 FG%
0.3-1.0 .333 3p%
1.0-1.3 .750 FT%
0.5 1.5 2.0 REBS
3.2 Assists
0.2 Blocks
0.5 Steals
2.5 PF
1.0 TO
7.7 PPG

Its a small sample, but he does look a lot better to me although the bar was admittedly pretty low. Its nice to see some positive signs.

[bleedspeed]

What is the track record for 22 year old lottery picks improving in the NBA over the last 10 years? I am thinking he is a career backup. Value has tanked. That is why draft picks are worth the most at draft time.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

What is the track record for 22 year old lottery picks improving in the NBA over the last 10 years? I am thinking he is a career backup. Value has tanked. That is why draft picks are worth the most at draft time.

Not necessarily lottery picks, but how about Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Chandler Parsons, Reggie Jackson, Victor Oladipo...

Those guys aren't the norm, but they are examples of three/four-year college products who had higher ceilings than they showed during their rookie campaigns. One thing going for Dunn is his "never give up, never give in" type of attitude as it pertains to life in general. If nothing else, I feel confident that he won't back down from the challenge. It just remains to be seen if he'll be able to put it all together.

[bleedspeed]

Cam - I agree on Dunn's attitude. Love the kid and hoping for the best, but logic tells me it won't happen for him. I hope I am wrong.

I said lottery picks because the later picks usually improve because they don't get a shot to play initially and front offices are not invested in developing them. Glad you mentioned Oladipo. I see Dunn and him being very comparable. I think that is Dunn's ceiling and likely best position of SG. I really hope we land a stud PG in the next draft and some how trade Rubio for a big bodied bully in the paint.