Minnesota Timberwolves: What's Kris Dunn's Ceiling?

As we reflect on our first look at Kris Dunn in NBA Summer League action, just what exactly is his professional ceiling with the Minnesota Timberwolves?

There is a sizable number of talented point guards currently employed in the NBA at the moment, but that list will continue to grow with the emphasis that’s been put on the perimeter nowadays and three-point shooting being seen as an offensive priority.

Teams need guards who can either knock down shots themselves or have enough passing ability to set up shooters for open looks. Guys who are primarily defensive stoppers but aren’t great shooters like Tony Allen are becoming dinosaurs in the league today because of where the game is going.

The few teams that have All-Star point guards are the ones who are contending for championships year after year, while the squads that roll out lineups with mediocre or average floor generals are left in the middle of the pack or worse come season’s end.

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Luckily for the Minnesota Timberwolves, the organization just drafted the best point guard prospect in the 2016 class in Kris Dunn to pair along with veteran passing wizard Ricky Rubio.

There’s a serious question left to be answered of whether the two can share the floor together with neither being a particularly effective three-point threat, leading many to believe that Rubio will eventually find himself on another team and Dunn acting as the Timberwolves’ future answer at the position.

Rubio isn’t anywhere close to having a reputation as an ineffective player despite his lack of an outside shot because he has the court vision and defensive chops that few guards have. While he’s never been a good scorer in his young NBA career (10.1 points per game average), he has been one of the better set-up men the league has seen in years and has kept Minnesota in many games because of it.

But where Rubio has failed to deliver is in his consistency both as a winner and healthy participant. Rubio has had multiple injuries already that have sidelined him for significant time, and even when he’s been on the floor the Timberwolves haven’t exactly been close to contending in the postseason — even with a fully healthy Kevin Love.

This brings us to Dunn, who has the upside that Minnesota has looked for at the point guard position for some time.

Standing at 6’4″, Dunn has the requisite size and length to be a nasty defender on the perimeter. These physical attributes combined with his motor give him a chance to lock down his man and force turnovers regardless of who he’s going up against. Dunn wants to play defense, and new head coach Tom Thibodeau will have no problem giving him huge minutes if he plays well on that end of the floor.

Where he has a lot of room to grow is with his offensive game, which is nowhere near polished but already more complete than Rubio’s.

Dunn proved in his two Summer League games that he can come in and get looks at the rim right away. In his two outings with the Timberwolves in Las Vegas Dunn averaged 24.0 points per game on 54.3 percent shooting from the field.

While he wasn’t effective in knocking down three-point shots or free throws at a high percentage, he was able to break down his man and finish inside with a variety of layups and floaters. He has a better handle than some thought coming out of college, and there’s no denying his great first step.

What impressed me the most about Dunn in his professional debut was his ability to change speeds on the fly. Usually young guards come into the league flying around the court at one speed: fast. The game is played at a much quicker pace than in college or even internationally, which causes some inexperienced point guards to speed themselves up a little too much.

Dunn wasn’t fazed by the pace of the game and kept himself in control from start to finish in terms of speed. Sure he made a few errors including a few errant passes in the start of the team’s game against the Toronto Raptors, but no guard was better at knowing when to go fast and take it down a notch in key situations.

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He moved the ball up the floor well in transition, but when most first or second-year guards would’ve kept pushing the ball into multiple defenders or a bad shot, Dunn chose to come to a quick stop and evaluate his situation. He made a few great split-second decisions and sped right back up as soon as he knew how he was going to act.

Few players his age are mature enough to handle such fast-paced decision-making but Dunn isn’t like most of his peers. He’s 22 and is coming into the NBA with three years more experience than some of the “one-and-dones” like Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram.

This doesn’t mean that he’s better off or doesn’t have as much of his game to perfect because he’s far from being a complete point guard. Dunn will have to eliminate his knack for careless turnovers and poor shot selection in transition as well as improve his outside stroke, but his athleticism and competitive nature will carry him for now.

Before the draft some scouts threw out the John Wall comparison for Dunn based on their similar size and athletic talents. While Dunn doesn’t have the top-end speed that Wall does, they both get into the lane when they want to and are good in the drive-and-kick game. Both guards are also better suited for scoring at the rim as opposed to outside the arc or from 15 feet and out.

Regardless of whether he reaches the level of someone like Wall, Dunn has an incredibly high ceiling because of his motor and drive to get better. That’s the biggest thing behind a player’s gradual improvement, and he’s arguably the fiercest competitor in his class.

More hoops habit: Minnesota Timberwolves: 2016 Offseason Grades

Whether the T-Wolves decide to move Rubio or not, they have a solid prospect waiting to take over the team on both ends of the floor in Dunn.

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Minnesota Timberwolves: What’s Kris Dunn’s Ceiling?

By Nathan Grubel | Jul 30, 2016

As we reflect on our first look at Kris Dunn in NBA Summer League action, just what exactly is his professional ceiling with the Minnesota Timberwolves?

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