With the trade deadline less than six weeks away, the Utah Jazz have some tough decisions that lie ahead. The futures of Jordan Clarkson, Collin Sexton, and Talen Horton-Tucker have been dominating the Jazz headlines, but a topic that hasn’t been discussed much is what’s in store for Kris Dunn.
Dunn came into the league as a blue-chip prospect after becoming a consensus All-American and two-time Big East player of the Year for Providence. He was a high lottery pick in the 2016 NBA draft, selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves, but his career has fallen short of the lofty expectations coming out of college.
The journeyman has played for five NBA teams in a span of seven years, with his most recent stint before coming to Salt Lake City last season with the Portland Trail Blazers, where he averaged 7.6 ppg while dishing out 5.6 assists.
In Utah, the Jazz brain trust was able to get a nice sample size of what Dunn could do on the court thanks to the Mike Conley trade and injuries to Sexton and Clarkson last season. In a Jazz uniform, Dunn averaged 13.2 ppg while also dishing out 5.6 assists over 24 games. Those numbers were good enough to sign Dunn to a two-year contract worth $3.32 million that runs through 2023-24.
Fast forward to the present, and Dunn's playing time this season has been a mixed bag. He's averaging only 16 minutes per game and, at times, has fallen victim to the overabundance of guards currently on Utah’s roster. However, it appears he’s leapfrogged Horton-Tucker on the depth chart and has started the last four games.
Signing Dunn beyond this season is still up in the air, but according to Jazz play-by-play broadcaster Craig Bolerjack, Dunn has felt comfortable in his brief stint in Salt Lake City. Bolerjack shared his insight on ESPN 700, The Bill Riley Show.
“Look, I talked to Kris Dunn yesterday,” Bolerjavk said. “He feels real comfortable here. He thinks he’s grown here.”
Utah’s front office knows what Dunn brings to the team on and off the court, but will that translate to another contract? From this point of view, it would be advantageous for Utah to offer Dunn a longer deal.
Dunn offers a skill set that some of the other rostered guards lack. He has a facilitator-first mindset and is arguably Utah’s best defender. In fact, Dunn made the 2022-23 G League All-Defensive team and, in 2019-20, was 11th in voting for NBA All-Defense with the Chicago Bulls.
Dunn can also leave his imprint on a game without a lot of volume going through him. This gives Utah’s starting lineup more balance, with Lauri Markkanen and Sexton taking the lion's share of the shots.
Also, with Markkanen’s potential max contract lurking, the Jazz are going to need some contributors who aren’t going to break the bank. Dunn fits the bill.
Dunn could be auditioning for a future in Salt Lake City as we speak. How he performs over the next month will go a long way in deciding what’s on deck. Although the way it’s been trending, he’ll get another NBA contract. If not with Utah, it will be somebody else.
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