In a surprising if not understated move on draft night, the Phoenix Suns managed to turn the 22nd overall pick into the 28th selection, as well as securing three other second round picks from the Denver Nuggets. One of those second rounders is up this year, with two to come down the road.
With the 28th selection the Suns opted for a defensive-minded player in Ryan Dunn, an individual who some think could end up being the most impactful defender in his draft class. The general consensus is that the organization made the right move in taking Dunn to pair with their three star players.
With Dunn now headed to The Valley, what can fans expect from him in his rookie season?
Beginning with the drawbacks - and there are not many - and Dunn is a negative offensive player right now. Watch any footage of him playing for the Virginia Cavaliers and outside dunks around the rim and plays of his own making because of a steal where he can charge toward an open basket, he's not offering much.
When you play with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant though, that doesn't need to be the first, second or third attributes you excel with. All Dunn needs to do is exactly what he showed he can in college on the offensive end. Keep the ball moving, attack the open lane and move without the ball so that others can find him for easy points.
But it is defensively where Dunn is going to make a real difference right away. Is there any chance he could actually start come opening night given what he does well blends perfectly with Booker, Durant and Bradley Beal? That seems premature, but there's no doubt his engine and energy will be a spark head coach Mike Budenholzer turns to often.
There might be some time spent in the G League, and on some nights he is going to look lost offensively. But in his only two seasons in college, Dunn went from 2.6 points and 2.9 rebounds in 31 games played for the Cavaliers (zero starts) while managing 12.9 minutes per game in year one, to 8.1 points and 6.9 rebounds in 34 games (all starts) at 27.5 minutes each night.
With the 28th pick the @Suns select Ryan Dunn. He seems wise beyond his years. pic.twitter.com/xXXIniJLIW
— Mark McClune (@MarkMcClune) June 27, 2024
Clearly the 21-year-old is on the ascendency - and if he can become even a modest scorer in the coming years - then he is going to be a success. The only issue there is that the Suns don't have time to see if Dunn can reach that level, but his abilities on the other end more than make up for that problem.
In year one a realistic stat line would be four points, five boards with the Suns being notably better defensively on the court when Dunn is out there. To get a couple of starts would be massive - even if they do come about as a result of injury to teammates - while seeing 10-12 minutes of action each night.
Come the postseason those numbers would surely decrease, and if they didn't then Dunn would have exceeded all expectations in year one. It is entirely possible that Dunn becomes the Mikal Bridges type for this version of the roster - and although that places considerable pressure on his shoulders - he is already a bigger and more explosive individual than the latest New York Knick.
Even if he's only half of what Bridges was in The Valley, that will be good enough for this group. To have nabbed a player with this upside - as well as the potential to add three more rookies in the second round - is the cherry on top. Ryan Dunn is going to fit right in, and it will be apparent early just how good he is at doing much of the work that others don't do on a nightly basis in Phoenix.