Jazz HC Sends Message to Kris Dunn After Signing Second 10-Day Deal
While Collin Sexton continues to lick his wounds on the sideline, the Utah Jazz have had to come up with additional solutions at the point guard position. It's exceedingly inconvenient that the worst of Sexton's nagging hamstring injury has come post-NBA trade deadline when Mike Conley was dealt away.
Enter Kris Dunn, whom the Jazz signed to a 10-day contract back in February. Dunn made his Jazz debut on February 23 and, in the ensuing games, did enough to garner another 10-day pact.
Following Utah's double-digit loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, head coach Will Hardy talked about how Dunn managed to secure that additional contract and how the former top-five draft pick continues to assimilate with the Jazz.
“I think Kris is—he came in with a tremendous competitive fire," Hardy said on Saturday night. "You see that on the defensive end of the floor. He really is engaged on that end and I think that part, he came in with. He’s getting more and more comfortable on the offensive end, understanding our system, where his opportunities to score are, kind of what the reads are that he has to make as a primary ball-handler to get his teammates involved, and I think he’s done a better job every game of kind of staying within the flow of what we’re doing."
As a newcomer, Dunn had to freelance a little bit offensively, but as he's settled in with the Jazz, Hardy has been pleased with where he's at with the scheme.
"I felt like early on, when he did look to score, it sort of felt like he was breaking off actions, which is totally natural," Hardy said. "He didn’t really know fully what we were doing. But I think he’s really balanced well when to attack for himself and when to look for his teammates. I think he’s gotten more and more comfortable on the offensive end."
Averaging 23.2 minutes per game, 13 points, 4.2 assists, and 3.4 rebounds, the veteran point guard has helped mitigate the sting of Sexton's absence. Talen Horton-Tucker has also played a role in that, but his returns during this stretch have been hit-and-miss.
The Jazz obviously need a good floor general with Sexton out, and while Dunn is doing what he can to answer that bell, his biggest impact has been on the defensive side of the ball. In that area, Dunn has helped set the tone for Utah.
"Defensively, again, a lot of that stuff on that end of the floor he had when he got here," Hardy said of Dunn. "That’s been a big part of his identity as he’s been an NBA player. So it’s about us as a staff continuing to try to put him on the right matchups and put him in spots to try to utilize those gifts.”
Dunn's emergence has been a breath of fresh air and quite timely for the Jazz. Kudos to the front office for seeing the opportunity there and signing him to a couple of 10-day contracts. Time will tell just how lasting Dunn's impact is when that second contract expires.
With these games fringing on the must-win territory, the Jazz might be wise to insert Dunn as a starter until Sexton can fight his way back onto the court. Next up, Utah's road trip continues with a Tuesday night bout at the Dallas Mavericks. Tip-off is at 6:30 pm MDT.
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