Jazz make major decision on Kris Dunn

The Jazz are guaranteeing Kris Dunn‘s $2,586,665 salary for the 2023/24 season, league sources tell Tony Jones of The Athletic.

The move was expected, Jones adds. Dunn’s early salary guarantee date was Oct. 23, but now he knows a couple of days early that his contract — which was previously non-guaranteed — will be fully guaranteed.

Dunn has played the best basketball of his NBA career since joining Utah late last season. He averaged 13.2 PPG, 5.6 APG, 4.5 RPG and 1.1 SPG on .537/.472/.774 shooting in 22 games (25.8 MPG) with the Jazz in 2022-23. He also had a 3.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, a strong mark for a point guard.

In five preseason games this fall (15.2 MPG), Dunn averaged 8.0 PPG, 2.8 APG and 1.6 SPG while shooting a remarkable 85.7% from the floor (18-of-21). Head coach Will Hardy recently praised the 29-year-old’s “tenacity” as well as the “fight and hunger” he shows on the court.

It’s been a remarkable career turn around for Dunn, who spent most of last season in the G League and played only 18 NBA games with the Hawks and Trail Blazers from 2020-22 (part of that was due to knee and ankle injuries while with Atlanta).

The former No. 5 overall pick was always a strong defender, but struggled to score efficiently, which has changed dramatically over the past year. He turned a couple of 10-day deals with Utah into a two-year contract worth more than $3.3M.

Dunn is set to his unrestricted free agency next summer, and he should be coveted on the open market if he continues his strong play again in 2023-24.