Kris Dunn's Reservations About Playing For Celtics Put Danny Ainge In Tricky Spot
By Brian Robb, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Celtics' brass will have more than a month to make a decision on how to handle the No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, but one of the prospects' camp in consideration for the spot may already be throwing a curveball Boston's way.
According to a report from the Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski on the site's Lottery Show, Providence College star Kris Dunn did not undergo a physical evaluation at the draft combine in Chicago last week. That move may be a prelude to a strategy by Dunn's agents to keep a team with n "young, established point guard" from drafting him.
That type of team would include Boston.
Point guard is one of the deeper positions in the NBA right now and that's especially true for teams at the top of the 2016 NBA Draft. Both the Celtics (Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart, Terry Rozier) at No. 3 and Suns (Brandon Knight, Eric Bledsoe) at No. 4 have a core group of backcourt talent in place that may prevent a seasoned college player like Dunn from getting steady playing time during the first couple of years of his NBA career.
By withholding medical information from both franchises and refusing an in-person draft workout, Dunn's camp would be putting GMs Danny Ainge and Ryan McDonough in tough spots to properly evaluate the 22-year-old combo guard. Dunn has undergone a pair of shoulder surgeries in his career at Providence.
"They can't stop them from drafting Dunn," Wojnarowski said on the Vertical's Lottery Show, "but will those teams do it without his medical records, without a personal workout, without an interview with him? Because I'm told Boston and Phoenix will likely have to do that with Dunn."
Sometimes, teams will roll the dice on a player in these kinds of situations with limited physical information, but that hasn't been Ainge's M.O. in his tenure as Celtics president. Wyc Grousbeck and Ainge have insisted that the team would not have drafted big men Joel Embiid and Greg Oden over the past 10 years from Boston's position in the draft due to red flags uncovered within their medical reports. For a player with a history of issues in a certain region (shoulder), you can bet the Celtics would want the all-clear from their medical staff before rolling the dice on a guy like Dunn, especially at No. 3.
While Ainge has done a nice job of accumulating assets over the past three years, this is just another case where the logjam in the backcourt could backfire on him to a degree. Not only do current young players on the Celtics' roster have limited value at the moment thanks to inconsistent playing time (Rozier, R.J. Hunter, James Young), but having a depth chart situation that is a turnoff to a draft prospect adds another challenge to Ainge's plate next month as he evaluates his options with the pick.
With that said, Wojnarowski remained optimistic that the Celtics will be able to shop the choice adequately despite Dunn's camp's reported stance.
"There will be a lot of teams trying to get to three," said Wojnarowski. "I think a lot of teams view, after the top two, a lot of players differently. Whether it's Kris Dunn, Dragan Bender, that group of players will (have) appeal, so someone's going to try to move up and get there. Will there be a package rich enough for the Celtics to want to move out of there? And does Danny Ainge see a difference-maker in that spot that he wants to take? But certainly Danny Ainge is always open for business in Boston with deals. They have multiple picks. I think they'll be very active in the trade market."
Brian Robb covers the Celtics for CBS Boston and contributes to NBA.com, among other media outlets. You can follow him on Twitter @CelticsHub.
