Revisiting completely wrong preseason Timberwolves predictions

Kris Dunn‘s Breakout Rookie Campaign:

Kris Dunn seemed like everyone’s favorite to be the best player from his draft class. And it wasn’t just Timberwolves fans who were optimistic: the rookies from his draft class pegged him as the favorite to win Rookie of the Year. Additionally, the league’s general managers not only believed he would win Rookie of the Year, 20% of them thought he would be the best player from this class in five years. (Keep in mind — these predictions were also made before Ben Simmons, the first overall pick, was injured.)

After an illustrious four-year career at Providence, it’s easy to understand why many thought he’d be the point guard of the future. Players who stay longer in college tend to be more polished and for that reason, many expected him to excel from Day One.

Looking back at it now, Kris Dunn has played well below those expectations. While his excellent collegiate defense has translated well in the NBA, the same can’t be said about his offense. He has posted a measly Player Efficiency Rating of 8.17, struggled to shoot from just about anywhere from the field, and making absolutely no noise in the Rookie of the Year conversation.

While many expected him to outperform Ricky Rubio for the starting point guard position in Minnesota, that prediction has proven to be far from true as he has been outperformed by both the Spaniard floor general but also third-string guard Tyus Jones for much of the season.

It would be foolish to give up on him just yet; he’s still just a rookie with tremendous physical skills and has been playing much better in the month of March, shooting better from the field then in any other month. However, it is evident that he was not as NBA-ready as initially expected, showing that he clearly has a lot to learn before he can match the lofty preseason expectations or inherit the starting position.