Could Miami Go From Kendrick Nunn to Kris Dunn?

Other than Kris Dunn and Kendrick Nunn’s rhyming last names, they share absolutely nothing alike.

Kendrick Nunn showed throughout this regular season that he is a pretty natural scorer of the basketball, even though it was hard to see that during some stretches of the postseason. Kendrick’s downfall though is that he is not a great defender, and that is what Miami lacked this past season.

Kris Dunn, on the other hand, is one of the league’s best guard defenders in the league. He received the most votes for the all-defensive team among those who didn’t make it this season.

Kris was second in steals per game this season with 2.0 a game, only trailing Ben Simmons with 2.1, which Dunn averaged 10 less minutes a game.

Not only was his name at the top of the defensive statistics like defensive plus/minus, deflections, and loose balls, but he also elevated the Chicago Bulls to a top 10 defense before his injury.

All of these things show pretty clearly how effective he is defensively, but how is he offensively?

Well, he really isn’t the most efficient player. In 51 games played this season, he averaged 7 points a game shooting 26% from three.

That may look bad on a stat sheet, but it really isn’t all his fault.

He did not seem to have a fitting role on this past season’s Chicago Bulls team, especially with Zach Lavine having a decent season, which he controlled the ball most of the time. Dunn was attempting under seven shots a game, which further proves that he wasn’t very comfortable.

And with that offensive uncertainty, many teams will not have as much urge to jump at that type of player.

Unless, you are the Miami Heat.

Miami had one of the most dynamic offensive teams throughout this regular season, due to the shooting out-pour of Duncan Robinson, the evolution of Tyler Herro, and the throwback Goran Dragic season. It’s obvious that Miami doesn’t need scoring right now, they just need exactly what Kris Dunn is.

Kris Dunn is a restricted free agent, which means that Chicago will still have the opportunity to match a possible Miami Heat offer. But would they want to?

They had a pretty good rookie showing from their new point guard last season, in Coby White. And they now have the fourth pick in this NBA years NBA draft. It’s clear the way they’re heading with this roster, and it doesn’t seem that Kris Dunn will be apart of it.

It truly seems like a win-win situation for both Kris Dunn and the Miami Heat. Miami gets their guard defender, while Dunn gets a fitting role.

If Miami has an opportunity to pull off this signing without hurting their other off-season plans and re-signings, I believe they should do it.