Philadelphia 76ers: Would Kris Dunn Fit With Ben Simmons?

Could Kris Dunn and Ben Simmons co-exist on the Philadelphia 76ers if they jump up in the NBA Draft to grab him?

Let me start off by saying that I’d be the first one to tell you how seamless of a fit Kris Dunn would be with Brandon Ingram. But as we get closer and closer to the NBA Draft on Thursday it seems as if the Philadelphia 76ers are leaning more towards taking Ben Simmons first overall over Ingram.

This has been made clear by the Sixers being the only team to get a private workout with Simmons, (as first reported by Keith Pompey) as well as a face-to-face meeting.

The 76ers also have been said to be making a push to trade for Kris Dunn at the draft. With these things in mind it makes you wonder; how would Kris Dunn fit next to Ben Simmons?

Shooting:

The stigma that both these players get is that they are non-shooters. It leads you to believe that them playing together at the same time would cause spacing issues. That would be true if both players were total non shooters but one has actually showed a pretty nice stroke.

Kris Dunn has improved his jumper a lot since his freshman season and ended up shooting a very respectable 37.2 percent from 3-point range in his last season at Providence. This is a very fine number for any player, let alone a guy who is said to be a bad shooter. Keep in mind that this percentage could have been higher based on the fact that Dunn had to create everything himself. It was rare that you’d see someone else with the ball to assist Dunn on a wide open set three point shot.

Most players shoot worse off the dribble so playing with a creator like Simmons means more set and wide open shots and that most likely means shooting a higher percentage. Dunn also shot better from the free throw line this past season than Ingram on more attempts per game and Ingram is/was regarded as an elite shooter.

Ideally Dunn only has to be an average shooter to be able to play with Simmons and I think that is very possible for him to accomplish if he hasn’t accomplished it already. Even still, there are three other positions besides the ones Simmons and Dunn play at that could possibly bring shooting so I think it would work fine.

Defense:

I don’t think there’s any questions here. Simmons and Dunn would work beautifully together on the defensive side of the ball. Dunn is already a lockdown defender and Simmons certainly has the potential to become one.

Dunn can definitely defend the majority of point guards and shooting guards and maybe even some smaller small forwards on occasion while Simmons could potentially guard any player at positions 1-4. In the future, Simmons and Dunn alone could almost average more steals and blocks combined than some whole teams probably. Add Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel, Jerami Grant, and Robert Covington to that mix and this team would without a doubt lead the league multiple years in team blocks and steals.

Ball Dominance:

This is right there with spacing and shooting ability as far as concerns with this tandem. As far as I’m concerned this isn’t a problem at all. Good teams always have at least two people on the floor capable of handling the ball and distributing.

Look at the two teams in the NBA Finals. The Golden State Warriors had Stephen Curry and Draymond Green in the same lineup with Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala off the bench. All four of those guys can handle the ball and pass. The Cleveland Cavaliers had LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in the same lineup. Irving could definitely be seen as a high usage player yet he and LeBron worked fine and won the championship.

While Irving is a better shooter than Dunn, he is nowhere near as unselfish. Dunn has no problem at all with the ball not being in his hands and he is as great off the ball as he is on it. Dunn is very good at cutting backdoor to the basket and moving without the ball to get open. Dunn is just as good at giving the assists as he is setting himself up to receive one.

Dunn just wants to win no matter what and doesn’t care what role he has to play to accomplish that. He isn’t the typical combo guard who plays both positions because he cannot play one full time. Dunn can play both point guard or shooting guard full time in my opinion. When I see him I see a true cross between Dwyane Wade and John Wall play style-wise. I don’t think he’ll necessarily be good as either but I think he will still be very great in his own right.

Next: Sixers Should Trade Up For Another Lottery Pick

It will take some time like any other group of players (especially rookies), but eventually I think these two would work great together if both become 76ers this week.