NBA: 10 relative unknowns entering defining seasons in 2019-20

9. Rodions Kurucs, Brooklyn Nets

With Kevin Durant about to miss the season due to the ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered during the NBA Finals, Rodions Kurucs, who started 46 of 63 games for Brooklyn last season at small forward, gets to show off his game.

That’s critical, because if Kurucs turns out to have starter talent, it will change the conversation around how not just the Nets, but the rest of the league, see the Latvian as a roster piece.

If he’s going to be stuck as a backup behind Durant when the high-priced superstar returns from injury, this year will be his audition tape for a chance to get traded elsewhere and play a much bigger role.

Kurucs had a bit of a rough start as a rookie, hitting just 31.5 percent of his 3-point shots, but he was an above-average defender measured by box plus-minus (0.2 DBPM) and rookies generally improve their advanced stats significantly in Year 2.

It’s not a perfect solution for the Nets, but they’re going to need their man to step up big time until Durant is back.

Kurucs reminds me in terms of early years stats of a young Bojan Bogdanovic, another Euro guy who kicked around the league until he found his shooting stroke and his role in Indiana and his big contract in Utah.