Profile of the Junkyard Dog

by Wil Cantrell on Jul 21, 2009 11:33 AM MST in Phoenix Suns Commentary

The centerpiece of the trade with the Charlotte Bobcats appeared to be Jason Richardson. Obviously J-Rich had the stats, athleticism, and name recognition around the league to excite most of us. But the other piece of the deal was one Jared Dudley. While most of us fans were quoted as saying, "Jared Who?," It appeared Steve Kerr had done his homework, and arguably, may have been after Dudley more than Richardson. Of Dudley, Kerr stated:

"Jack-of-all-trades type player...He can guard three different positions. Youthful. Energetic. We feel like we're getting an impact player and somebody who's going to impact our future."

Jared Dudley was the 22nd pick in the first round of the 2007 draft out of Boston College where he started and played in every game in his four year career. Known as the Junkyard Dog, (can you guess why?) Dudley had a streak of over 100 consecutive starts in his college career. In his senior season, Dudley was voted ACC Player of the Year and was second team All-American. Dudley's draft profile listed the following (out of many) strengths in his game:

High Basketball IQ
Excellent court vision
Accomplished scorer, yet unselfish
Good finisher
Creates mismatches due to ability to post up
Legit three point range
Scrappy hustler, dirty worker
Wants to win
Top notch work ethic

Among His Weaknesses:

Not a superior athlete
Questionable upside
Lack of lateral quickness and first step
Tweener, too short for PF and not athletic enough for SF.
Streaky perimeter shooter.
Average on ball defender

As a professional, not much has changed from the above noted assessments. As a 22 year old rookie in Charlotte, Dudley played in 73 games, averaging 19 MPG, which is surprising for a 22nd pick in the draft. Usually rookies with Dudley's attributes do not see a lot of floor time. And while we can argue that the Bobcats were so terrible that putting Dudley on the floor couldn't have made the team any worse, the fact that he made it out there consistently, averaging significant time, is an illustrating of Dudley's productivity against the big boys of the NBA. In 48 games with the Suns last season, Dudley put up modest numbers not even worth mentioning. But what is worth mentioning was his style of play he exuded from beginning. Living up to his reputation, Dudley was the dirtworking dog, and by the end of the season, he had even found some range from the three point line.

I believe with increased minutes we will see some more consistency and output from Jared Dudley. Ideally I would like to see the average rebounds increase to 5-7 (from 3), the free throws up to 75% (from 68), and the PPG to 8-10 (from 3). Dudley is capable of that kind of improvement. Either way when I think of the trade-off between Dudley and Diaw, I would much rather have the psychological consistency of Dudley, even if we lose some of the talent and athleticism of Diaw. The thing I like the most about what I have seen from Dudley thus far is that he knows what kind of player he is and has no illusions-he understands what he does well and what a team values from him. He will never be Shawn Marion or Grant Hill, but we don't need him to be that. I am sure I will be challenged on this, but I submit that Kerr probably wanted Dudley more than Richardson, that Richardson filled the vacated spot left by Raja Bell, but Dudley in himself, was just another high draft pick along with Robin Lopez for the 08-09 season.

What do you all think?

Poll

Two years from now, who will have been the better acquisition?

Jason Richardson

104 votes

Jared Dudley

321 votes

Neither, I want Raja and Boris back

216 votes

641 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

J. Dud ...

is one of my favorite players on the team. I like guys with court awareness and mental consistency.

by jburning on Jul 21, 2009 11:56 AM MST reply actions

Agreed!

I love his character and will to hustle. His game against Utah on the road (that one we barely lost) had me jumping up and down in front of the TV. I know this is ironic, but he strikes me as a younger, more fiery, poor-man’s Diaw. Hopefully he can outdo his predecessor in the consistency department.

by Silkster on Jul 21, 2009 12:14 PM MST up reply actions

He’s a way different player than Diaw. He doesn’t have anywhere near the offensive game Diaw has. He does, however, play better defense, hustle more, and turn the ball over less.

I want to see movies of my dreams. - Built to Spill.

by jj24 on Jul 21, 2009 8:33 PM MST up reply actions

Studley

Big fan of Dudley. I dare say he might even have a future as a starting 3 on this team one day, despite some of his weaknesses.

"Yeah I could have been king, but maybe I already am king. Hail to the king baby." Ash from Army of Darkness

by Turambar on Jul 21, 2009 1:10 PM MST reply actions

Sure, why not? He’s going to have to D up a bit. But if he wants to, he will. That’s the type of guy he strikes me as. You can have all the skills and quickness in the world, and not want to play D (ahem, Sun Tzu). Another example was Raja Bell-he had some physical gifts, but more than anything he had the attitude and desire-he took it personal.

by Wil Cantrell on Jul 21, 2009 1:30 PM MST up reply actions

Agree with your assessment 100% Will

Watching him last year, I see no reason that JYD cannot improve in those areas to make himself an extremely serviceable back-up who does “all the little things.” is he going to put up Boris Diaw numbers (the good Boris)? Probably not, but in this roster, he shouldn’t need to…

And I agree that as a defender, he has some great upside. I think he should be able to defend the 3 position well, and may be able to do some good against some of the undersized fours.

I love Dudley as a player. He was great in a touch college conference, and seems to have a great head on his shoulders. Thought he played well last year, and should improve with more consistent coaching, rotations, and playing time.

Damn…I’m starting to get excited for some Suns basketball!!!!

by ArizonaCactus on Jul 21, 2009 1:33 PM MST reply actions

Yeah man, get all jacked up! And just think we have about 3 months to wait for tipoff! All the doom and gloom of last month is subsiding. I think we have some exciting things to look forward to.

by Wil Cantrell on Jul 21, 2009 1:44 PM MST reply actions

The Real JYD
http://www.nba.com/media/bulls/williams_031201.jpg

by Adi C on Jul 21, 2009 2:02 PM MST reply actions

Nice stuff

I am totally “high” on Dudley and I think he could be great guy down the road. IF he can be developed into a great role-player then he could attract offers as well. As for his D, I cant remember how many times last year I was listening to the game on the radio and always at the end of the game when we needed it most Dudley would come away with a steal. Almost like clockwork. I would say “man we need a steal” and it would happen. Soon I started saying “cmon Dudley steal it” and sure enough, the dude would get the ball!! I mean cmon, if thats not clutch defense what is! However, you are right about the point and rebound output. If he can get his consistency in points up to about Barnes’ level from last year (not his shooting percentage, just his points) without sacrificing the tenaciousness of his court play then it would be great. plus, 5-8 rebounds a game would be really nice. Good post. We need to hear more good things about our role-players.
Its time for Suns fans to start investing in some of these guys for the long haul.

Go read a book!

by N8lol on Jul 21, 2009 2:08 PM MST reply actions

In that vein, I would submit some of the best teams in the league have a big three along with a long line of role players-the defensive stoppers, the rebounders, three point specialists, guys on the bench that play consistent every night and give the team a lift when the starters are tired or are being locked down.

What I like about this team (and this could be Kerr’s “Spur’s model”) is that we have acquired a number of these types on the roster that do the little things that win games. Lou Amundson was huge last year, playing above expectations, doing things that truly amazed like taking the ally oop feed and finishing layups after getting bludgeoned by the Nene’s and other thugs of the league.

by Wil Cantrell on Jul 21, 2009 3:20 PM MST up reply actions

I absolutely agree…That’s why I’m not too convinced that Lopez/Frye at the center is that big of a negative….Offensively we’re pretty set with Nash, A healthy STAT, Richardson, Barbosa, and Hill…I know it may not be comparable to, say the big 3 in Boston of Pierce, Garnett, and Allen, but offensively it will be close…

Either way this team will be fun to watch…

by ArizonaCactus on Jul 21, 2009 3:41 PM MST up reply actions

Yeah ...

Kerr has done a good job of beefing up our bench and finally getting some quality role players. Now, he just needs to not screw up the Stoudemire situation and needs to find a starting PG going forward (after Nash leaves/retires).

by jburning on Jul 21, 2009 4:22 PM MST up reply actions

Your future starting PG is one Slovenian named Goran Dragic. one of the big reasons Nash was extended is to give Goran another couple of years of tutelage under his belt before the torch is passed. As far as Sun Tzu goes, well he is in charge of his own destiny.

by Wil Cantrell on Jul 21, 2009 5:59 PM MST up reply actions

Woa there cowboy

Dragic is going to have to take huge leaps forward to be a starting PG in this league. He’s got a long way to go but at least he and the Suns will be able to give him a year or two to see how he develops

Blogging Suns Basketball

by Seth Pollack on Jul 21, 2009 6:13 PM MST up reply actions

I did say “future.” I also said that he absolutely needs more time to develop.

by Wil Cantrell on Jul 21, 2009 6:49 PM MST up reply actions

Yup...you did

Blogging Suns Basketball

by Seth Pollack on Jul 22, 2009 7:45 AM MST up reply actions

Not sure I see Dragic being a starter. We’ll see, though. I think he has the talent to be, but he’s gotta toughen up mentally, and unfortunately, that’s the hardest thing to change.

by jburning on Jul 21, 2009 6:38 PM MST up reply actions

Dudley

is a guy you love to love. And his style of play is such a refreshing change from the “I deserve a max extensions” and “I need touches” we were accustomed to. That’s enough for us to like him. The fact that he can play a little is more like icing on the cake.

I think Jared’s ceiling is a B+ glue guy, so… maybe a poor man’s Shane Battier (which is pretty damn good — how many Shane Battiers are there?). I haven’t seen enough of him to believe that he can be a starting SF on a championship team, though.

As for JRich… I really don’t know what to do with him. He’s like a cheap steak — decent if you only had Kraft dinners and hamburger helpers around, not good enough to be the entree that carries a great meal, and also couldn’t fit into the complementary parts of a great meal.

But then Antoine freaking Walker won a ring, so maybe there’s still hope for JRich.

As for Dragic, he needs to keep watching Beno Udrih game tapes to build up his confidence.

by gadogry on Jul 21, 2009 6:47 PM MST reply actions

+1 Beno Udrih quip

by egp the great on Jul 21, 2009 7:04 PM MST up reply actions

I agree re: Dudley

I love the kid. LOVE him but he’s no starter on a top team. He can be an impact player off the bench and those guys have a lot of value but just b/c a player is good at a few things in limited minutes does not mean he will translate to a starter.

Barnes is a great example. Coming off the bench as a role player he’s solid. When he had to start and play big minutes he was exposed.

Blogging Suns Basketball

by Seth Pollack on Jul 22, 2009 7:47 AM MST up reply actions

I actually think Dudley can be a starter. But he’s going to be one of those starters like a Trevor Ariza or Shane Battier (or even Raja Bell) … one of those guys who does certain things well, and that’s all he’s asked to do. Not every starter needs to be a star who is an extraordinary producer. In fact, to make a starting line-up work, you need a guy or two to take a step back and just fill the gaps.

by jburning on Jul 22, 2009 9:27 AM MST up reply actions

im curioius

how much of our negative perception of JRich is based on his DUIs? Don’t get me wrong, I really think that DUIs are bad (he had his kid in the car didn’t he? christ…). But still, I think JRich is becoming a scapegoat for alot of what went wrong for us last season. His production for us was good. His defense isn’t that good, but i mean we weren’t expecting him to come in here and be a Raja-like stopper, were we? I personally think we can entertain the idea of trading JRich, but mainly thats because I think so highly of Barbosa and so lowly of all the money we are paying JRich. But that doesn’t mean hes a good SG, and may become even better this season with full runandgun.

I like Dudley and all, but really—do you expect him to be more valuable than JRich to our team? I mean…if he improves that much, I definitely wouldn’t complain, but that seems like a very bold statement to make at this point.

by yanyanman2 on Jul 21, 2009 7:11 PM MST reply actions

correction

“that doesn’t mean he’s *not a good SG”

by yanyanman2 on Jul 21, 2009 7:12 PM MST up reply actions

you know J-rich has put up 20ppg averages in the past and those are like Vince Carter like numbers, but I think that Richardson is even younger than Carter. Besides being a good dunker, I think Richardson is a good SG. At least he is putting up way better numbers than “Backcourt 2000” did with Hardaway. Remember how much money we spent on Penny? More than a pretty Penny, and J rich has more gas in the tank and less injuries than Penny did!

by Rishmo on Jul 21, 2009 7:56 PM MST reply actions

Very different players. Penny avged 6.2 assists per game in his career and can play PG. JRich had 2 apg last season and is a black hole on offense (albeit a decent one).

If Jrich had legit playmaking skills, we’d not have to worry so much about finding Nash a backup.

by gadogry on Jul 21, 2009 8:07 PM MST up reply actions

Predictions

Robin/Frye, Amare, G. Hill, JRich and Nash. I like this team very much, but I’m not sure we can beat a lineup of Duncan, McDyess, Richard Jefferson, Manu Ginobili and Parker. But hey, we’d eat the Lakers alive.

by Diego Queiroz on Jul 22, 2009 8:18 AM MST reply actions

Forget the Lakers and Spurs for now

the question is can we beat the Mavs, Blzrs, Jazz and Hornets (who still have Chris Paul btw)

Blogging Suns Basketball

by Seth Pollack on Jul 22, 2009 8:43 AM MST up reply actions

Agreed. A lot of prognosticators say the Jazz have fallen off a step, but any Jerry Sloan coached squad is going to be tough. New Orleans has totally owned us the past two years.

by Wil Cantrell on Jul 22, 2009 9:09 AM MST up reply actions

New Orleans owned us during The Big Cactus Era

But we owned them when we had Stat manning the middle. We could easily regain our upperhand if Earl Clark develops the way Amare and Shawn did in our system. Even if he doesn’t live up to those standards in his first year, we should be more competitive against all of those clubs simply due to the fact that we know who we are and what we’re good at again, and will play to our known strengths in ways that won’t diminish or negate ourselves.

by ArithMattic on Jul 22, 2009 9:18 AM MST up reply actions

Actually you're completely wrong on this

The season that we traded for Shaq, we went 0-3 against the New Orlean Hornets before Shaq came. Chris Paul hounded Steve Nash into some pretty horrible games, and he averaged more than 6 turnovers per game in those losses. It was hardly even close because Chris Paul was having his way with the Suns “defense”. This is what happens when the young talents of today or yesterday grow into the stars of tomorrow. We dominated the Hornets in the season BEFORE Shaq, when Chris Paul and David West were out injured for a total of almost 70 games. Another reason we couldn’t keep up with the Hornets was because the Suns squad was on the decline, and most importantly, the surprise and intrigue with the Suns 7SOL had come and gone.

By 2008 everyone had figured out the Suns, and the wins, as well as the win-margins were getting sparser. It was a trend that many people liked to ignore. Sure, the Shaq-trade wasn’t a good move, but many fans like to keep speaking as if we were a dominant championship-spinning dynasty. We were simply a very exciting, and very good team with a decent chance at winning. It is extremely annoying because people get themselves even more worked up and depressed with the current situation. It’s like losing a wallet with a hundred bucks inside, but then you keep telling yourself that there was a thousand dollars in there, and you just get more and more miserable.

This is the problem with revisionist history and hindsight wisdom. The past gets all fuzzy and everyone just remembers whichever version they like.

http://themeanderingtruth.evony.com/ ve watched, loved, and rooted for the Suns for half my life! I hate smug and hypocritical Laker fans.

by felixthm on Jul 22, 2009 11:20 AM MST up reply actions

+1

as much as it pains me to hear that.

by yanyanman2 on Jul 22, 2009 1:13 PM MST up reply actions

felixthm

Good analogies there, especially the wallet.

Obviously the trade off with Nash is the one on one D. Yet consider how many points he is either directly or indirectly repsonsible for on the other end. One guy (in theory) shouldn’t kill you. If Paul goes off and picks up 35 or 40, it’s not that big of a deal. But if he goes off and gets West and others involved, then yeah, we got a big problem on our hands. The Hornets (like the Spurs and Lakers-now) have our number. Yet most of the West has improved, although Houston should probably regress with their injury situation. I still like us at second in the Pacific (no big surprise), and of course that doesn’t necessarily get us into the playoffs. Hopefully the continuity of the system and coach, along with some luck with health will help us over the edge into the 8 or 7 seed. There are X-factors like Clark cracking the rotation and turning into a defensive stopper, Dudley, J-Rich, and Barbosa playing out of their minds, Dragic being able to play a solid 10-15 to rest Nash that could improve our chances even more.

by Wil Cantrell on Jul 22, 2009 4:03 PM MST up reply actions

Maybe I am revisioning history

but I could swear that 2006-07 (the year before we traded for Shaq) we swept New Orleans, and Chris Paul only missed one of those games with a sore foot or something. Now, I will admit that in the 07-08 season New Orleans did sweep us, back when certain players thought they weren’t getting their due and didn’t like their roles and wanted more money, etc…. etc. But even then the games were competitive to the point where all but one of them could have gone either way, and the one that we didn’t have a chance in, we were just beginning to learn how to play with Shaq. We had something crazy like 33 wins and 14 losses when we traded for Shaq, and were well on our way to another top seed. But hey, you may be right… perhaps I dreamed all that up because I think changing our team composition and style just to defend one person, on one team, was one of the dumbest things my favorite team’s management has ever done… maybe I’m just blinded by rage… who knows?

by ArithMattic on Jul 22, 2009 7:59 PM MST up reply actions

VS. NO:

2006-07: 3-0
2007-08: 0-4

I don’t know how productive it is to revisit those years, fact is, some teams have your number for whatever reason. Sure one on one, Paul can take Nash virtually every time, but who can defend Chris Paul straight up? That’s where someone like Marion was so valuable, especailly in the playoffs.

I still believe that one man cannot (usually) kill you, and the best way to stop the one guy is to take away his other options.

by Wil Cantrell on Jul 23, 2009 8:51 AM MST up reply actions

The Hornets are gonna suck next year… We’re gonna own them this year. We’ll make the playoffs this year becuase the Hornets, Rockets and Jazz are all worse teams next year. It will be hard to beat the Lakers, Mavs, Spurs, Nuggets and Blazers next year though. I am thinking the Suns take 5th or 6th in the conference

by SunsFTW on Jul 22, 2009 10:31 AM MST up reply actions

+1

We’re still an Andre Iguodala and David Lee away from beating the Spurs and Lakers, and I can’t see either walking through our doors any time soon. For now, we have to settle for trying to steal a 4 or 5 seed, and the Mavs, Blazers, Jazz and Hornets are all prime targets to lose a seed or two to accomodate us.

by ArithMattic on Jul 22, 2009 9:13 AM MST up reply actions

p.s. We can scare the Lakers

but our backcourt defensive liabilities plays right into Kobe’s strengths. He’d average 40+ against us, and the rest of the Lakers would do just enough to get by us in 5-6. Now, about those Spurs, Duncan becomes the weak link against us now, with Amare manning the middle. Amare could average 40 against them, with the rest of the Suns doing just enough to offset RJ, Manu, and Parker, especially if J-Rich can match RJ’s prod offensively. We can beat them, simply because their bread and butter guy actually has lost a step. He’s still a very fundamentally sound player, which will keep him in the league for another 3 or 4 years or so, but he’s nowhere near as dominant as he was three years back.

by ArithMattic on Jul 22, 2009 9:31 AM MST up reply actions

GHill will be all over Kobe this year :)

by SunsFTW on Jul 22, 2009 10:32 AM MST up reply actions

also, if Manu or TD get injured this year, the Spurs will not be the team to beat

by SunsFTW on Jul 22, 2009 10:33 AM MST up reply actions

depends on how much defense JRich can play..

both JRich and Amare have to step up their defense, particularly JRich who will end up being Nash’s go to/cleanup guy on D.

But I like our backcourt vs the Lakers, to be honest. I’d make the point that Derek Fisher is a much worse player than either Nash or JRich, and that the difference between Kobe and Nash/JRich is smaller than the one between Fisher & Nash/JRich, putting our pair slightly ahead of their pair. ALSO, we’re putting the ball back into Nash’s hands, after two years of trying to reduce Nash’s playing time and work rate while on the court. And good things happen when Nash controls the ball.

Moreover, the Lakers backcourt is extremely vulnerable to speedy point guards. The question then becomes who can score more points from the backcourt, and given Kobe’s tendency to be inefficient, I’d take our two, 3 out of 4 games, assuming a comparable number of shots.

Contrary to popular belief, what makes the Lakers dangerous isn’t Kobe, it’s Odom and Gasol. Those two are the guys who can bust you up, and in fact if Odom has a bad game, the Lakers invariably lose. With our signing of Clark, and an increase in frontcourt mobility that comes from signing Frye and making Amare play a little 5, our matchup isn’t too bad, provided we use our superior speed to match Pau and trouble Bynum, and I like either Hill or Clark vs Odom.

The keys against the Spurs will continue to be our defense vs Duncan, our exterior defense vs the 3, and not shooting ourselves in the foot vs those guys.

"True glory consists of doing what deserves to be written, and writing what deserves to be read".

by Pliny the Elder on Jul 22, 2009 6:01 PM MST up reply actions

oh crap

the spurs are gonna be scary again

by yanyanman2 on Jul 22, 2009 8:28 AM MST reply actions

What about the Mavs?

I think Cuban is willing to spend a lot of money (aside movie making) this year. Marion was a great deal, but not a great addition to the team. If he was not happy with his touches on Phoenix, why would he be satisfied on a team that has Dirk, Josh Howard and J. Terry as primary options?

I truly fear the Spurs. But it would be the case even if they had our Summer League Team coached by Popovich.

by Diego Queiroz on Jul 22, 2009 2:12 PM MST reply actions