With the various roster moves the Phoenix Suns have made this offseason, it is clear that third-year forward Ryan Dunn faces an uphill battle to remain in The Valley long-term.
Waiving of Haywood Highsmith buys Dunn time to impress
With the franchise recently waiving Haywood Highsmith to open up a roster spot and save some money in the process, Dunn is down but not out yet. This was not a decision made to try to give him another opportunity to impress head coach Jordan Ott, but Dunn has benefited regardless.
In the last number of seasons, the Suns have typically kept a spot free in case the right kind of player becomes available, and they got brilliant value by using the likes of Collin Gillespie on a two-way contract (he is making much more than that now) to fill one of these positions.
They may wait until closer to the trade deadline to add a 15th player, while being in the first apron means there are already restrictions on the kinds of players the organization can bring in.
The brilliant news for Dunn is that the 23-year-old is surely going to be given some run with the second unit to see if there is anything there before moving on from the former first-round draft pick. The Mikal Bridges comparisons are long gone, but just being an above-average defender off the bench would be huge for this group.
Dunn needs to pick a speciality and stick to it in order to survive
The days of Dunn being a "3-and-D" prospect in The Valley are over, but there is still a solid defender in there. He has the long body and quick feet to stick with elite scorers, although strength and a lack of elite explosiveness remain issues.
Finding any sort of consistency from 3-point range has always been the key to Dunn working out, but at this point, we have had too much false hope in that area. He needs to take the pressure off himself by accepting that he will never be an offensive contributor and lean into his defensive instincts.
That may still not be enough to last, as Rasheer Fleming is already a better scorer across three levels and makes more sense next to Dillon Brooks and Miles Bridges. The time for Dunn's last stand is now, and if he hasn't made any progress by the time the Suns fill that last roster spot, his career there will be over.
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