2018 NBA free agency grades: Spurs adding Dante Cunningham
Dante Cunningham may have plenty of stops on his NBA journey, but his presence could help the San Antonio Spurs this upcoming season.
In the midst of arguably the wildest offseason in franchise history, the San Antonio Spurs decided to upgrade their roster just a bit, bringing in Dante Cunningham on a one-year deal, according to ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski.
A former second round pick, Cunningham has spent the majority of his NBA career on the move. The nine-year veteran has played for six different organizations, unable to find his footing in any one location.
During the 2017-18 season, Cunningham split time between the New Orleans Pelicans and Brooklyn Nets, averaging 5.7 points and 4.1 rebounds in 21.4 minutes a night.
ESPN story on the Spurs agreeing to a free agent deal with forward Dante Cunningham. https://t.co/fGP0FF0xja
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 16, 2018
A former Villanova product, Cunningham projects more as a stretch-4 in today’s spaced out NBA. Standing at 6’8” and 230 pounds, he has the size and athleticism to pose problems for opposing forwards who don’t match up with his physical makeup.
Since entering the league in 2009, Cunningham has worked hard to develop the outside shot that has become a necessary evil for power forwards in order to stay on the court. A career 33.2 percent shooter from beyond the arc, Cunningham shot 38.3 percent over the course of 22 games in Brooklyn this past season.
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Whether or not his shooting will drift more towards to former or latter will be answered in due time, but it appears as though he understands where his position is trending and has adjusted his game accordingly.
For a Spurs team slowly embracing the new style of play that has swept over the other 29 teams in the league, Cunningham’s versatility could be useful during little pockets of playing time sprinkled throughout the 48-minute regulation.
After losing Kyle Anderson to free agency and with the departure of Kawhi Leonard as likely as ever, the Spurs lack depth out on the wing. Cunningham represents a probable insurance move should that depth decrease even more.
With the talent to play both forward spots, he gives coach Greg Popovich the chance to mix and match different lineup combinations in order to see what works best.
The signing of Dante Cunningham may not be the news Spurs fans want coming out of San Antonio, but this doesn’t mean he is without value.
Cunningham has size, athleticism and a fairly respectable outside shot. Those are all things that help modern forwards succeed in this day and age, and they have certainly helped him carve out a solid NBA career.
Remember, Popovich is probably the best in the game when it comes to extracting the most out of every single player on the roster. This is a guy who turned Patty Mills, Danny Green, Gary Neal and so many others into valuable contributors on title-winning teams.
Nobody knows exactly whether or not Dante Cunningham will see big minutes or receive bench splinters on a nightly basis. What we do know is Pop has transformed many a stray NBA player into a solid, consistent contributors.
With a very complementary skill set that suits the current ways of the league, there’s little reason to believe Cunningham can’t be added to that list.
Next: 2018 NBA free agency tracker: Grades for every deal so far
Grade: B