Kris Dunn: New Orleans Pelicans’ Debrief Discussions
Talk about Dunn’s first year as a Pelican. Does he make an immediate impact, or do you see this as a redshirt year (18mpg or less)?
Preston: Kris Dunn has a lot to learn before he tears down the wall of NBA point guard talent. He will ultimately rely on his youth, power and size to match up with players before proper mechanics and knowledge can catch up. A smart team would bring him along very slowly, and work on refining the deficient aspects of his game. He would do well to create a runner, a pull-up, improve shot consistency, study pick and rolls, and avoid crashing inside.
The Pelicans would be best suited to play this young man 23 minutes per game or less, and let him learn from veterans Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans, and even third year man, Tim Frazier.
Rick: If he came to the New Orleans Pelicans as a rookie, there would be a ton of question marks on his playing time. Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans, Norris Cole, Tim Frazier and Toney Douglas are five decent guards that are already on the team. And even if a few of those guys are not on the roster next season, he won’t see a great amount of time on the floor due to the Pelicans strength at that position.
Still, it’s tough to keep a guy with Dunn’s talent level off the floor. It would be assumed he, Reke and Jrue would share a majority of the guard minutes. Dunn would finished around 20-22 minutes a game, enough for him to get a feel for his teammates and the long-term gameplan for the franchise.
Charles: I think ideally the plan would be for him to play a lot right away. The Pelicans do not have a lot of guard depth so it may be a trial by fire for Dunn. A lot of it will depend on how he looks in training camp and if he is able to showcase an ability to defend ( something that most rookies naturally struggle with). Out of the gate I would expect Dunn to get at least 20-25 minutes per game and depending on his performance that total may vary. If the Pelicans find themselves out of the playoff race again, except to see more Dunn as the year goes by. It’s tough to predict though, as the Pelicans haven’t been in a position to play rookies in a long while so it’s quite uncertain to predict what they will definitively do with the minutes.
Does Kris Dunn’s injury history concern you?
Preston: There is probably little to fear here. Dwight Howard and Anthony Davis has both confessed to playing through a torn labrum for up to three years. The only concern would be in the recurrence. Dunn received the same injury on the same shoulder in less than two years. His shoulder has held up well since, but with his impulsive style of crashing through defenders, it merits watching.
Rick: With the Pelicans? Yeah, kind of. The team has not had a good history of having their players recover from injuries in the past. Jrue, Quincy Pondexter, Anthony Davis, Omer Asik and Eric Gordon all suffered injuries this past year that were reoccuring. No matter what the initial injury is, there is a worry the Pelicans training staff will struggle to keep Dunn healthy. Even if Dunn has such promise and looks healthy to return, it’s a worrying proposition.
Next: Pelican Debrief Big Board
Charles: Injuries and Pelicans are an automatic red flag. It would be foolish for this franchise to dismiss any potential medical red flags, but from what we know his injury history hasn’t hurt his draft stock. This should mean that most teams would view his injuries as something that won’t become a lingering issue. With that being said however, trusting the Pelicans medical staff at this point is like drenching yourself in gasoline and then proceeding to sit by a fireplace. Surely the Pelicans have to be aware of there injury history but I don’t think Dunn has anything that should be to alarming considering there’s been no reports about him slipping, contrary to Denzel Valentine.