Dante Cunningham's progress and role this year

[Boise Blazer]

Im curious to to get this forum's take on Dante. It seems like (outside of an injury situation) he will see limited minutes but somewhat be in a regular rotation with those limited minutes.

So although there is always room for improvement with any player I wonder how much improvement there is still in his game. Is he already mostly what he will be at his best in NBA? Does he have potential to develop enough to get significant regular minutes? Is there ever even going to be that opportunity on this team for him? Is he exactly what this team needs as solid energy player who knows his role? Would he be happy with that?

I really like his game right now and what he brings, Im just curious where everyone thinks that game is headed?

 

[BlazerCaravan]

If all three of Oden, LMA, and Camby are healthy and free-wheeling, you'll probably see a three-man rotation with Dante getting spot minutes as an ad-hoc stopper. But if one of the three goes down, his minutes will spike way up to 18 or 20 a game. Even if this is as good as it gets for Dante talent wise, he's got Ime Udoka skills while being 10 years younger. I'd want to keep him around as long as he doesn't complain.

 

[Luther]

I think Cunningham is much like Louis Amondson (sp?). He's got a much higher upside with that jumper and his ability to defend multiple positions but that's the best comparison I can come up with. I hope we keep this kid around for our title runs.

 

[mook]

Yeah, he's definitely in the third string behind Matthews (backing up SF) and Camby (backing up PF). But I won't feel desperate if Matthews or Camby go down, which means he's a perfect fit for that role this year.

Of course "quality third stringer" is a little like "6th man of the year." It's nice to be for one or two seasons, but it's not a long-term career plan (Ginobili aside). In the big picture, you are either moving up the rotation or moving out of it. I see Cunningham moving up it as Camby fades out.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

It depends.

Nate states his natural NBA position is SF- and I agree. There he is a very physical defender with a better than average mid range jumper. As the season starts he should be the #2 SF. However, if Nate feels the need to get more minutes for SG Matthews (due to his contract), he may play him at SF situationally. Or, if Nate wants more of a 3-point presence, he may even give Babbitt a chance.

Now, if Pendy doesn't pick up his quality of play we may see Dante picking up minutes at PF (or when Nate wants to play "small ball"). At PF Dante is a bit undersized, but he doesn't seem to have problems banging away against larger players in the paint.

Overall Dante was a huge and pleasant surprise last year. He looked good in summer league and I'd be surprised if he isn't given every opportunity to play in the first half of the season. I think he'll average 14-18 mpg and possibly more. While I'm not a proponent of playing players at more than one position, Dante can play SF or PF and be effective at both positions. He may have been the steal of the draft.

 

[Eastoff]

until greg and joel are both healthy, expect Dante to get 15-20 minutes per game.

 

[hasoos]

I see him as a guy that Nate can use in situational matchups. Nate is a matchup coach, and Dante give him a guy to fill certain roles at certain times. I also wouldn't be surprised to see the second unit a little more uptempo and go small at times, with Camby or LA at center.