Nope. Healthy Healthy Kawhi!
Don’t think he has kahwi’s handles.
Top 5 all-time?
That would be dream scenario for sure. It’s bewildering to me how far his offense has come in since just Summer league. If that trajectory holds then … sure pass me the bong and let me dream haha
Kawhi didn’t have Kawhi’s handles when he came into the league either.
He should earn the minutes. However, there's a need for what he brings. We have time to develop him. IF he stays on this trajectory, and can really play defense on the best opposing player, someone is going to the bench.
Maybe not quite peak Kawhi, but Dunn could certainly be very special. It's sooo unusual for Suns to find a diamond it the rough in any part of the NBA draft, much less late first round. Hell, this guy is way better then all those flame-outs we had with top five pick's in the past! The beauty of Dunn, is that even if he is having a bad shooting night, his defense is still going to still be there. I'd always give him at least 10-15 minutes per game if I were Bud.
To be fair, Chriss showed some promise early on and Jackson had his moments as well. What I will give Dunn is that he looks like he simply knows what he is doing. That is especially rare for a young player on defense. Hopefully he isn't just on a hot streak and he actually brings this to the regular season. I am leaning towards the idea that he will. It's not just that he is making shots and coming up with defensive plays, but also the way he looks doing it.
I see your point, but in my mind, if you are selected top 5 in the draft, your floor should be a solid bench player, not out of the league. That's some serious lack of doing your homework on draft selection to me. If nothing else, you need high IQ players with at least one elite skill. Suns have been fairly bad at this. Sure sometimes they do well: Booker, the twins. It'd be interesting to see how Suns compare to other teams at making picks. Of course, if your the Spurs, things are just gifted to you.
Not sure I would put it all on scouting or homework. They simply were using a poor scouting philosophy where they were drafting more on potential than on substance (developed NBA skills). We have seen this work out in some cases and lead to absolute flops in others.
agreed. Poor Scouting Philosophy. If you plan or get lucky enough to nab a top 5 pick, you CANNOT go strictly on potential. You must get a sure thing that can produce and have at least even odds of eventually becoming part of your starting five. Maybe you endured a whole season of tanking. You cannot let that go to waste. I thinks it's a major reason for Suns lost decade. The problem with Ayton was (as you say) we didn't listen to the warnings and he was the perfect fit for what the Suns needed, so it was just too damn appealing to pass up.
Agreed. I like Bol, but I'm not sure how often he is a net positive. Perhaps him or Damion Lee, since Lee plays the same position as Gillespie, more or less.
You did notice I said it’s a WILD RIDICULOUS question.
Oh, I think his ceiling is higher than Bridges. But that's a pretty good comp. Bridges is a good defender and good scorer. This kid has the tools to be an absolutely elite defender, both one on one and team D and if this 3 ball stroke is real, the sky's the limit for him on offense.
Mikal's biggest issue as a defender is that he doesn't match up against a lot of the league's best scorers. He can do a good job on some of the smaller guards, but guys like Curry and Lillard for instance can go off anyways. He gets absolutely bodied by someone like Luka or LeBron. Dunn has a chance to stand up to those guys defensively while still being a bit of a pest for guards as well.
I am shocked. Just shocked. I was thinking of Scottie Pippen myself.
