Who should be the starting PG

[madvillian]

I'd hazard a guess that Dunn plays as many minutes at SF this year as PG. I'd expect Santo to start and get 30 minutes per at PG, Coby to be his primary backup (and playing with other ball handlers like Archi in a combo guard role) and get about 20-25 mpg and then Dunn to come in around 15-20 mpg as the 8th man swingman type.

I agree. Santo's stroke looks sweet, and his defense at third base is hard to beat.

it's going to take me until mid season to spell that guy's name right. hell I already screwed up the abbreviation. Maybe he'll get a cool nickname.

[League Circles]

I think it's really hard to argue that Dunn isn't a top 8 or 9 player on this roster.

It's basically only these guys that are better or more talented than him:

Carter
Lauri
Young
Otto
Zach
Tomas
Maaaybe White if you want to be generous

Even if you want to include Arci he's still top 9, though worth noting our coach continued to always play Dunn ahead of Arci.

Top 10 guys should play if you really subscribe to positionless basketball. Dunn is top 7-10 on this team no doubt. His warts have just been magnified as a primary ball handler.

[madvillian]

I think it's really hard to argue that Dunn isn't a top 8 or 9 player on this roster.

It's basically only these guys that are better or more talented than him:

Carter
Lauri
Young
Otto
Zach
Tomas
Maaaybe White if you want to be generous

Even if you want to include Arci he's still top 9, though worth noting our coach continued to always play Dunn ahead of Arci.

Top 10 guys should play if you really subscribe to positionless basketball. Dunn is top 7-10 on this team no doubt. His warts have just been magnified as a primary ball handler.

He's a useful player if he can commit to playing fundamentally sound defense and is OK not being the primary ball handler. I really don't know if he can do those things we'll find out. Mentally he doesn't seem to be in a good place.

[sco]

I think it's really hard to argue that Dunn isn't a top 8 or 9 player on this roster.

It's basically only these guys that are better or more talented than him:

Carter
Lauri
Young
Otto
Zach
Tomas
Maaaybe White if you want to be generous

Even if you want to include Arci he's still top 9, though worth noting our coach continued to always play Dunn ahead of Arci.

Top 10 guys should play if you really subscribe to positionless basketball. Dunn is top 7-10 on this team no doubt. His warts have just been magnified as a primary ball handler.

He's a useful player if he can commit to playing fundamentally sound defense and is OK not being the primary ball handler. I really don't know if he can do those things we'll find out. Mentally he doesn't seem to be in a good place.

Discussing Dunn is fun because it goes to one of the biggest questions I have about NBA players. When do you throw out draft position when considering an NBA player who has yet to play consistently well? Even Felicio has had a stretch where he looked like a NBA rotation player. It isn't much different for Dunn in terms of his demonstrated performance. I'm not saying their respective floors have been the same, but my point is that Dunn has not had another stretch since his face-plant injury where he looked like a rotation-worthy NBA point guard. If he hadn't been picked as high as he was, I don't think we'd be talking about him at all.

Barring injury depletion, which did happen the past 2 years - so I'm not ruling that out, there really isn't an argument to giving Dunn minutes (at all) to start the season. I don't think the "pump and dump" argument holds water, he has had enough time to show GM's what he is, and it's not going to change his value to play him artificially. I don't think the "we want to win" argument works either because it is pretty clear to me that Arci is a better PG, even if you don't buy in to the developmental investment in White. Even the back-up SG option "for defensive reasons" doesn't work for me because I'd rather trot Shaq out there 10 times out of 10.

[drosereturn]

I think it's really hard to argue that Dunn isn't a top 8 or 9 player on this roster.

It's basically only these guys that are better or more talented than him:

Carter
Lauri
Young
Otto
Zach
Tomas
Maaaybe White if you want to be generous

Even if you want to include Arci he's still top 9, though worth noting our coach continued to always play Dunn ahead of Arci.

Top 10 guys should play if you really subscribe to positionless basketball. Dunn is top 7-10 on this team no doubt. His warts have just been magnified as a primary ball handler.

Top 10 talented ? Yes.
Top 10 player? No. Talent alone doesnt justify why he should be on the roster.
Its his contract year meaning he will play for himself rather than getting a win and you dont want chaos in lockerrom.
Rather get Melo who isnt getting a job not bc 350 players are better than him.

Unless related to Dunn, I dont understand the logic having Dunn on the roster.
He can hit the jackpot and play like a starter and then your paying him Terry Rozier money.
Bulls lose if Dunn plays terrible which is expected but they also get financially crippled and face losing him for nothing if no match.

[League Circles]

I think it's really hard to argue that Dunn isn't a top 8 or 9 player on this roster.

It's basically only these guys that are better or more talented than him:

Carter
Lauri
Young
Otto
Zach
Tomas
Maaaybe White if you want to be generous

Even if you want to include Arci he's still top 9, though worth noting our coach continued to always play Dunn ahead of Arci.

Top 10 guys should play if you really subscribe to positionless basketball. Dunn is top 7-10 on this team no doubt. His warts have just been magnified as a primary ball handler.

Top 10 talented ? Yes.
Top 10 player? No. Talent alone doesnt justify why he should be on the roster.
Its his contract year meaning he will play for himself rather than getting a win and you dont want chaos in lockerrom.
Rather get Melo who isnt getting a job not bc 350 players are better than him.

Unless related to Dunn, I dont understand the logic having Dunn on the roster.
He can hit the jackpot and play like a starter and then your paying him Terry Rozier money.
Bulls lose if Dunn plays terrible which is expected but they also get financially crippled and face losing him for nothing if no match.

I don't understand the downside if he plays well. You then sign him if it's a deal you want and let him walk if it's too much money.

Why will he necessarily play for himself just cause it's a contract year? Probably half the league are in contract years at any given time. Are they all bound to play selfishly?

He's on the roster for obvious contractual reasons. He should play at least initially IMO cause he's a top 7-10 player on this roster and because the other guys in question all are locked up under contract for years so there's no rush with them.

[sco]

I think it's really hard to argue that Dunn isn't a top 8 or 9 player on this roster.

It's basically only these guys that are better or more talented than him:

Carter
Lauri
Young
Otto
Zach
Tomas
Maaaybe White if you want to be generous

Even if you want to include Arci he's still top 9, though worth noting our coach continued to always play Dunn ahead of Arci.

Top 10 guys should play if you really subscribe to positionless basketball. Dunn is top 7-10 on this team no doubt. His warts have just been magnified as a primary ball handler.

Top 10 talented ? Yes.
Top 10 player? No. Talent alone doesnt justify why he should be on the roster.
Its his contract year meaning he will play for himself rather than getting a win and you dont want chaos in lockerrom.
Rather get Melo who isnt getting a job not bc 350 players are better than him.

Unless related to Dunn, I dont understand the logic having Dunn on the roster.
He can hit the jackpot and play like a starter and then your paying him Terry Rozier money.
Bulls lose if Dunn plays terrible which is expected but they also get financially crippled and face losing him for nothing if no match.

I don't understand the downside if he plays well. You then sign him if it's a deal you want and let him walk if it's too much money.

Why will he necessarily play for himself just cause it's a contract year? Probably half the league are in contract years at any given time. Are they all bound to play selfishly?

He's on the roster for obvious contractual reasons. He should play at least initially IMO cause he's a top 7-10 player on this roster and because the other guys in question all are locked up under contract for years so there's no rush with them.

I think this is what will happen:

They will continue to try to trade him up to and through camp. If not successful, he will be given a chance to compete during preseason. He'll compete for minutes at PG, SG and SF. Those of us who are woke to the big picture will want Coby, Sato, Val, Shaq and Hutch to outplay him because they are all "on paper" better positional fits and it would mean that they all surpassed a legitimate bar (i.e. Dunn's level of talent). That said, things rarely work out the way they should on paper.

[madvillian]

Top 10 talented ? Yes.
Top 10 player? No. Talent alone doesnt justify why he should be on the roster.
Its his contract year meaning he will play for himself rather than getting a win and you dont want chaos in lockerrom.
Rather get Melo who isnt getting a job not bc 350 players are better than him.

Unless related to Dunn, I dont understand the logic having Dunn on the roster.
He can hit the jackpot and play like a starter and then your paying him Terry Rozier money.
Bulls lose if Dunn plays terrible which is expected but they also get financially crippled and face losing him for nothing if no match.

I don't understand the downside if he plays well. You then sign him if it's a deal you want and let him walk if it's too much money.

Why will he necessarily play for himself just cause it's a contract year? Probably half the league are in contract years at any given time. Are they all bound to play selfishly?

He's on the roster for obvious contractual reasons. He should play at least initially IMO cause he's a top 7-10 player on this roster and because the other guys in question all are locked up under contract for years so there's no rush with them.

I think this is what will happen:

They will continue to try to trade him up to and through camp. If not successful, he will be given a chance to compete during preseason. He'll compete for minutes at PG, SG and SF. Those of us who are woke to the big picture will want Coby, Sato, Val, Shaq and Hutch to outplay him because they are all "on paper" better positional fits and it would mean that they all surpassed a legitimate bar (i.e. Dunn's level of talent). That said, things rarely work out the way they should on paper.

I can see Dunn getting injured as well.

[sco]

Saw this: https://www.yahoo.com/sports/bulls-player-preview-bulls-utilize-200947140.html

Expectations for this year's role

It's difficult to say at this point. He'll be part of a critical position battle in training camp between himself, Coby White and Ryan Arcidiacono (this assumes Tomas Satoransky starts and plays 30 minutes, which feels like a safe bet at this point). He'll get the first reps on the second unit simply because of his seniority but will have to hold off White (who the Bulls have plenty invested in) and Arcidiacono (a Boylen favorite). If nothing else, Dunn is going to be a self-proclaimed dog in practices and push the youngsters. If he can prove to be a worthy pick-and-roll guard and get back to what he was defensively two seasons ago, he'll play as long as he's on the team.

Where he struggles

Dunn is an effective passer, and that's about it on the offensive end. He'll make his share of floaters and midrange jumpers, but even those aren't the most efficient looks. For someone with such a sturdy frame and someone who attacks so frequently, Dunn's free throw attempts are non-existent. He just doesn't draw fouls (and, no, refs aren't missing calls). Then there's the issue of his 3-point shooting. Dunn averaged 0.7 triples per game in 30.2 minutes; to put that in context, Thaddeus Young, a power forward who lives in the paint, averaged 0.6 triples in 30.7 minutes per game last season.

Dunn is essentially an easy cover. He won't draw fouls and he's not a threat from beyond the arc. Force him to commit to one and you've got a good chance of getting the ball back.

[Axolotl]

Saw this: https://www.yahoo.com/sports/bulls-player-preview-bulls-utilize-200947140.html

Where he struggles

Dunn is an effective passer, and that's about it on the offensive end. He'll make his share of floaters and midrange jumpers, but even those aren't the most efficient looks. For someone with such a sturdy frame and someone who attacks so frequently, Dunn's free throw attempts are non-existent. He just doesn't draw fouls (and, no, refs aren't missing calls). Then there's the issue of his 3-point shooting. Dunn averaged 0.7 triples per game in 30.2 minutes; to put that in context, Thaddeus Young, a power forward who lives in the paint, averaged 0.6 triples in 30.7 minutes per game last season.

Dunn is essentially an easy cover. He won't draw fouls and he's not a threat from beyond the arc. Force him to commit to one and you've got a good chance of getting the ball back.

That's an excellent summary.