Rumors

Radio Talk Show host on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM in Phoenix John Gambadoro went on air to talk about some teams that could be interested in Durant, with a sleeper team now in the mix. "The one team that I think there will be communication [with]...this may be the Suns reaching out to them or them reaching out to the Suns or just mutual interest...is the Clippers," Gambadoro said. He continued to say, "We've never talked about the Clippers before but they got [Ivica] Zubac, they got [Kris] Dunn, they got [Norman] Powell, they got Derrick Jones [Jr.]. I'll have to look at what their draft capital is but the Clippers are a team that I heard."

Sports Illustrated

For the first time in the series, Murray was better than Dunn, who is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. The two had gone back and forth for most of the series. But in Game 5, Murray owned him with his shot-making ability, crafty ballhandling and pick-and-roll play. “You have so many possessions against him, sometimes I just have to pick my spots,” Murray said about Dunn’s defense. “There are times I have to roll with the punches, and there are times I have to make him react to me. You have to do whatever is needed to keep him off balance. I know that I have to give him different looks and give him different things to think about.

New York Times

Law Murray: Jamal Murray smiled when asked by @BennettDurando if he could still be motivated by Kris Dunn being selected over him in the 2016 NBA Draft “100 percent… 100 percent”

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Law Murray: Zach Zarba announces: - tech on James Harden - tech on Norman Powell - tech on Kris Dunn - tech on Nikola Jokic - tech on Aaron Gordon - tech on Christian Braun. No closed fists. Personal foul on Braun. No free throws lol PLAY ON!!!!

bsky.app

Justin Russo: Here you go: the entire incident between James Harden, Christian Braun, Aaron Gordon, Ivica Zubac, and, well, everyone.

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Still, the Clippers are here because of everyone else. Zubac, who should win the NBA’s Most Improved Player award, is putting up post numbers comparable to Jokic and Joel Embiid. Powell could have been an All-Star. Dunn would be a lock for an All-Defensive team if he met the league’s weird minutes-played eligibility. “When you think about an NBA team, this is what you envision,” said Harden. “This is probably one of the coolest teams in the sense that everyone understands who each other is ... that's what makes this team so special.” Said Leonard, “There's guys on the floor that want to guard. They're just not just pointing at me and telling me to take them. These guys are looking an opponent in the eye and saying, ‘I want them.’ They motivate me defensively.”

Sports Illustrated

Until they did. Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones Jr. tightened up the NBA’s third best defense. Nicolas Batum played 78 games and shot 43.3% from three. In larger roles, Zubac and Norman Powell thrived. Leonard and Harden are the biggest piece of the puzzle but they are part of one that fits. “I think when you have a team that appreciates their role and understands what their role is every single night and they're fine with it, it makes it a lot easier to coach,” said Lue. “What our guys have been able to do this year, understanding their roles … it kind of puts guys in their places and guys are fine with their roles and understand what we need from them every single night.”

Sports Illustrated

When Kris Dunn was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the fifth overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, expectations were high for the two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year. But the guard had to find his niche in the NBA. “I knew defense was always going to be my calling card,” Kris Dunn told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview. “I've been told even when I was in high school that in order to get on the floor, you got to make sure you're good on defense. So that has always been my calling card, and then it took me years to develop even more in my offensive game.”

Clutch Points

“I watched a lot of film. I mean, I dealt with a lot of injuries throughout my career, too, that kind of hindered some of the things. But, you know, I watch a lot of film and just try to dissect on what my role could be in the league and watching other players — how they were successful. And, once I got to the G League, I kind of figure out my pace, my play, and being able to kind of find a role that I felt like would fit with any team.”

Clutch Points

“[I do a lot of] watching film, watching other defensive guys in the league. I like to watch a lot of film and there are some guys in the league who are really good defensively. We have some on our team. And then there is practice. Take practice seriously — guarding and trying to keep working on my game. The main thing is just playing hard.”

Clutch Points

Kris Dunn's agent, Bernie Lee, has been outspoken on social media about his disappointment in the new CBA affecting the guard's eligibility for an All-Defensive Team or even Defensive Player of the Year. “I have felt for a few seasons now that this is seemingly a throw-away rule created as a reactionary narrative created over minutes limits and sports science and availability,” Lee said when reached out to by ClutchPoints for comment about Dunn's ineligibility due to the league's CBA. “I have never met a successful NBA player who didn’t want to compete and play and the fact that we allowed that desire to be measured in such an arbitrary way in the last CBA is something that needs to be addressed. “An amazing part of sports is historical achievements and date. This year, three-fourths of the NBA is not eligible for very important awards. It devalues the awards themselves and also undercuts the character and fortitude of every player in this league to compete. Kris is going to miss out on an award that is he extremely deserving of all because of a throw away arbitrary caveat to the last CBA. “It’s unfair.”

Clutch Points

As for not qualifying for an All-Defensive Team, Dunn expressed some disappointment, but didn't have too much to say on it as his focus has shifted to the NBA postseason. “It's a goal of mine,” Dunn told ClutchPoints. “It's been a goal of mine since I've been in the league, but I just do what I do.”

Clutch Points

In August, the Clippers decamped for Hawaii, where their training camp was held. There, Van Gundy addressed the group. “He told us we’re going to be turning into a defensive-minded team and that it starts with coming into work and being willing to do the work,” Dunn said. Van Gundy had two primary goals for the season. One was to fix the Clippers’ rebounding issues; only six teams had been worse on the defensive glass the previous season. The other was to up their defensive pressure; only nine teams forced a fewer percentage of turnovers. Soon after, Van Gundy began implementing the team’s defensive schemes. “I got there late because I was competing [with France] in the Olympics,” Batum said. “And when I arrived, guys told me that with [Van Gundy] here things were different now.” Still, Batum wasn’t able to comprehend what that meant until he saw a Van Gundy practice for himself. “He’ll be like, ‘Don’t stand here, stand here,’ and then he’ll literally move you one inch,” Batum said.

Yahoo! Sports

Law Murray: Kris Dunn on finally being in the rotation on a playoff team: "I'm starting to gain momentum, and I think I'm in a good spot with this group." pic.x.com/HTxtGzsdZI

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