Boston Celtics: What to Expect from Kris Dunn in a C’s Uniform?

One day after a relatively quiet draft night, the Boston Celtics have made another trade this offseason, giving Tristan Thompson to the Atlanta Hawks for Kris Dunn, Bruno Fernando, and a 2023 second-round pick.

This move makes a whole lot of sense. Boston had way too many centers on the current roster and a lack of guards, so Thompson ends up being the odd man out. With that being said, I also assume Fernando will be waived or moved elsewhere prior to the season starting for the reasons I just stated.

So, now that the Celtics have another actual guard on the roster, what can we expect from Kris Dunn?

Simply put, a whole lot of defense and not a lot of offense.

Dunn only played in nine total games across the most recent regular season and postseason combined for the Hawks. This was because he was dealing with both an ankle and back injury in which he required surgery for his ankle.

And even in the few games, he did play in, Dunn was limited to mostly blowout scenarios where Atlanta was either up or down by 20 points.

So, we’ll look at the season prior, where the former fifth overall pick made his name as an all-defensive talent.

Across 51 games in the 2019-20 season, Dunn averaged seven points, three assists, three rebounds, and two steals per game while having a true shooting percentage of 51%.

The big positive: his two steals per game was good enough for second in the entire NBA.

The big negative: his 51% true shooting percentage, in addition to the fact he only shot 26% from three.

Both stats are great for encompassing the type of player Kris Dunn is. He has a special ability to absolutely hound opposing guards on the perimeter, but once he gets the ball in his hands, opposing teams don’t have to make much of an effort to guard him.

So while I’m definitely excited to see the Boston Celtics add a defensive-minded guard to their bench, I am worried about what the offense may look like while Dunn is on the court. Luckily, Boston should have a good amount of floor spacers around him that it may not be as big of an issue.

Either way, having someone who could be an exceptional point-of-attack defender will be important as the Celtics try and rebound from a bad year defensively.

As much as I love Marcus Smart and his defensive prowess, he has certainly lost a step when it comes to being that point-of-attack defender that the Cs need.

To put this in different terms, I’d much rather put Smart on a player like James Harden, whereas Kris Dunn would be much better suited to handle a player like Kyrie Irving.

Plus, it’s not like Dunn has always been terrible offensively,

During the 2018-19 season, he did average 11 points per game while shooting 35% from three on two attempts per game. Still definitely not great, but suitable!

So, hopefully, he’s able to use this offseason to get healthy again and return to his all-defensive form after a disappointing 2020-21 campaign.

We’ll have to wait and see what other moves the Boston Celtics make whether it be free agency or via trade, but as of now, Kris Dunn should at least have a minor role off the bench for defensive purposes.

I very much doubt he’ll see many opportunities to start, considering a backcourt of him and Marcus Smart would be gross, but he could also serve as a sort of direct backup to Smart as a defensive option in the backcourt.

Either way, I hope Kris Dunn is welcomed to Boston with open arms.