With years of reflection and a humbling start to his professional career, Kris Dunn understands he probably took Tom Thibodeau for granted.
“Low key,” Dunn said in an interview with Sports+, “I did.”
It’s understandable why Dunn didn’t take to Thibodeau at first. He was a rookie under a coach who doesn’t gift minutes to youngsters for the sake of development. More than that, Dunn was the No. 5 choice by the Timberwolves in 2016 and the team president who drafted him was…Tom Thibodeau.
They were both from Connecticut. They were both defensive-minded. They were, theoretically, a perfect match. They were the sort of circumstances that could be expected to generate a longer rope to jell. But Dunn struggled and didn’t play much as a rookie — just 17 minutes per game while shooting 37.7% despite having what was supposed to be a “ready-made” game — and he got caught up in the lack of opportunities.