KC Mailbag "Dunn looks great in workouts"... Thinks he will start

[DuckIII]

Dunn has a lot of talent. Make it a fair and open competition for minutes. Doesn’t mean you can’t still trade him, and it might actually help.

[Ccwatercraft]

I've been a dunn fan since you came here but I'm also willing to admit that he regressed big-time after the face plant. I'm pulling for him to have a good year not just for him personally but for the team.

I think Sato will start, and I think we will be very happy with what we see on the court. I think he's an excellent fit for this group.

[TeamMan]

First, IMO Dunn's biggest problem has been health. In his two seasons with the Bulls he has played in only 98 out of 164 games.

Some of this can be attributed to the Bulls tanking, but you have to also question his durability. And it is also my opinion that this durability question is why the Bulls haven't been able to trade him.

It also pushed Gar/Pax into bringing in double insurance at the PG position for stability.

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Second, there have been times when he has demonstrated an amazing lack of focus on the court.

Some of the TOs that he makes just leave you scratching your head wondering what happened. And part of that appears to be that he wants to be an alpha-dog on the team. But he has to accept that Zach and Lauri are the Alpha-Dogs, and two are enough.

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So, I'd expect Dunn to look good in practice because these two things don't show up. But we have to see how that translates into games.

In any case however, the Bulls have too many PGs and Dunn is the obvious one to be traded.

[JimmyJammer]

As much as I am frustrated with Dunn and vacillate between wanting him gone and giving him a last chance, it's fair to admit that he is one steady jumpshot away from being the best PG on the team. His defense, athleticism and positional size are world class. But, will he put it together? Will he manage to play more than 60 games? So many questions need answers.

[ZOMG]

As much as I am frustrated with Dunn and vacillate between wanting him gone and giving him a last chance, it's fair to admit that he is one steady jumpshot away from being the best PG on the team. His defense, athleticism and positional size are world class. But, will he put it together? Will he manage to play more than 60 games? So many questions need answers.

No he's not. Sato is better than him at literally everything.

[ZOMG]

Wow. Sounds like a GREAT idea to embarrass your new PG acquisition right off the bat by not only making him come off the bench, but playing behind a dude who's been showing for the last two seasons that he just can't hack it.

Remember, Satoransky actually WANTED to come to Chicago, and he seems like a guy who will be extremely loyal and a long-term building block. What's more, he just showed the whole world that he's a leader and a winner.

I hate the "Ginobili effect" - when a guy is unselfish and plays without an ego, it somehow makes him a prime candidate for a bench role. That's bulls**t. He's our best point guard, period.

I know, I know... nothing should surprise us anymore when it comes to this team and its coaches. But starting Dunn would be a horrific mistake.

[JimmyJammer]

As much as I am frustrated with Dunn and vacillate between wanting him gone and giving him a last chance, it's fair to admit that he is one steady jumpshot away from being the best PG on the team. His defense, athleticism and positional size are world class. But, will he put it together? Will he manage to play more than 60 games? So many questions need answers.

No he's not. Sato is better than him at literally everything.

Ok, fair enough, you are entitled to that opinion. Now, will you agree with me if Dunn had shot his 3pt at anything close to 37-39% and managed to stay healthy for at least 65 games per season, we would not be having this conversation?

[ZOMG]

As much as I am frustrated with Dunn and vacillate between wanting him gone and giving him a last chance, it's fair to admit that he is one steady jumpshot away from being the best PG on the team. His defense, athleticism and positional size are world class. But, will he put it together? Will he manage to play more than 60 games? So many questions need answers.

No he's not. Sato is better than him at literally everything.

Ok, fair enough, you are entitled to that opinion. Now, will you agree with me if Dunn had shot his 3pt at anything close to 37-39% and managed to stay healthy for at least 65 games per season, we would not be having this conversation?

I don't care. He's consistently failed at the most important thing for his position - running the team smoothly and making players around him better.

[TheFinishSniper]

KC sucks

[Michael Jackson]

So KC said nothing really in that piece but he did help not tank Dunn’s value or anyone’s on the team. We can now call him the “Trade Fluffer”

[Hold That]

Wouldn’t be surprised at all if Dunn was killing Coby in practice

[sco]

Wouldn’t be surprised at all if Dunn was killing Coby in practice

Assuming it's not the Bobby Portis kind of position battle, I have no problem with giving the rook the "welcome to the NBA" scrimmage. I think pampering rooks does them no favors. Coby needs to learn to keep a tighter handle than shown in SL and learn to get off his shots against bigger, faster guys.

[DASMACKDOWN]

I don't think it matters honestly.

The question is when, not if, Kris Dunn gets moved.

Basically unless Kris Dunn has a Jimmy Butler type explosion in his contract year, he is as good as gone. Heck Jimmy had to be MIP and leading scorer for the Bulls mgmt to concede. If not, Jimmy most likely would have been moved.

The only thing that would give the Bulls pause, would be if Dunn is really great and everyone else is really bad. But either way, the wont pay Dunn past this season.

[dougthonus]

Ah ok. But he's clearly all over the place with what he thinks will happen.

KC always the risk taker and bold claim maker. “Dunn will start. no Sato will start. White will need big minutes. And Archi is great”

All in the same article. Thanks for the hot stuff KC.

I don't think there was anything contradictory there. He referenced twice that Sato will start eventually and once that Dunn would be the opening day starter. Those thoughts are complimentary not contradictory. If he felt Sato was the opening day starter he wouldn't use the phrase "eventually". Saying that Arci is valuable isn't relevant to either statement either.

[sco]

https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/bulls-talk-podcast-we-welcome-new-bulls-insider-kc-johnson

Good listen at end...says Bulls are targeting Coby for 24 mpg.

[ATRAIN53]

KC seems a little edgier over there at NBC. Cool.

His Satoransky man crush is pretty high as well.

If they want to trade Dunn still and get some value, then the talk should be he is starting.
Whose going to give us value for a back-up PG on a contract year that hasn't panned out.
I love the guy but he can't stay on the floor because of his style of play. Frustrating.

Someone will lose a PG in training camp and will call.

Archie is a throwback type PG. I think he works with Zach and Otto taking a ton of shots.
If Zach steps it up on D

[rtblues]

It will all play out in it's usual Darwinian way.
Someone is simply going to emerge from the pack. My own feeling is that it's not Dunn.
About using him at the wing, don't think so....

[FriedRise]

I just really like Sato's fit with our starting lineup. He does everything so well, doesn't make mistakes, makes the right plays, doesn't need the ball, and his presence makes everyone else around him better. We're gonna have two of this type of players in him and Otto! I mean c'mon! Yes in the interest of fairness it should be an open tryout during camp, but are we really gonna start Dunn again after seeing it fail over and over so many times last year?

I think Dunn can have a lot more major positive impact coming off the bench. Since we know that Coby will be playing significant minutes, I actually like pairing Coby with Dunn there. I think their skill sets are complementary, and Coby doesn't have to do all the ball handling duties on his own.

This is how I'd set up our bench lineup:
Coby / Dunn / Valentine or Hutch / Young / Kornet

Dunn plays the 2 off the bench as a slasher type guard. Him and Young will take on the other team's main offensive threat off the bench. There's also a lot more shot opportunities that he won't be taking away from guys who are much more efficient than him. We'll have some floor spacing at the 1/3/5 spots if Valentine plays. If Hutch gets the minutes, we'll have 3 plus defenders and a shot blocker in that second unit.

Speaking of playing the 2, I think Dunn can model his game after Dwyane Wade. Make finishing at the rim, drawing fouls/flopping, defense, and hitting the midrange jumpers as your bread and butter. If he can do all of that at a high level, we'd be OK if he's not a threat from deep.

[Stratmaster]

Ah ok. But he's clearly all over the place with what he thinks will happen.

KC always the risk taker and bold claim maker. “Dunn will start. no Sato will start. White will need big minutes. And Archi is great”

All in the same article. Thanks for the hot stuff KC.

To be fair... he said eventually Sato will be the starter but that Dunn will likely start opening day.

He said Archie has good value for a back of the bench player.

He said twice White will get 20+ minutes off the bench.

Where is your confusion coming in?

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[dougthonus]

KC seems a little edgier over there at NBC. Cool.

His Satoransky man crush is pretty high as well.

If they want to trade Dunn still and get some value, then the talk should be he is starting.
Whose going to give us value for a back-up PG on a contract year that hasn't panned out.
I love the guy but he can't stay on the floor because of his style of play. Frustrating.

Someone will lose a PG in training camp and will call.

Archie is a throwback type PG. I think he works with Zach and Otto taking a ton of shots.
If Zach steps it up on D

I always hate this thought that you do anything with a guy's minutes to create value. If he wins the job then he wins the job and we should play him. If he can't beat out Sato to win the job then starting him won't do us any good. We aren't going to get more than a 2nd rounder in terms of value unless he plays so well that we no longer want to trade him anyway.