Could Mike Dunleavy Be Better Than Kyle Korver For The Atlanta Hawks?

With Kyle Korver‘s departure came the arrival of Mike Dunleavy Jr. to the Atlanta Hawks. Could Dunleavy be better than Korver?

Kyle Korver’s departure was an emotional time for Atlanta Hawks fans. The return for Atlanta’s beloved shooter was.. interesting. The heavily protected 2019 first round pick, which will likely end up as a pick in the late 20’s, was supposed to be the best part of the haul.

Mo Williams is effectively retired. Mike Dunleavy Jr. was nearly the reason the trade didn’t occur; his disinterest of playing for the Hawks led to an unsuccessful attempt for a third team being added to the trade. Though, he has since disputed those claims. 

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Once it became evident a third team would not be added, and that he would be shipped to Atlanta, Dunleavy requested a buyout.  Coach Budenholzer convinced Dunleavy that his skills were needed, and a new era of Hawks basketball began. But, this creates the question: Could Dunleavy be better than Threezus?

For most, this is unthinkable. But, the numbers actually say this should be expected. Korver left Atlanta with a -8.0 net rating. His -6.1 Plus/Minus ranked as the worst of any rotation player on the team.

Korver being on the court was accurately a negative for the Hawks. What does Dunleavy do better than Korver that would insure him being a positive for the Hawks?

Versatility

In Dunleavy’s first game as a Hawk, he appeared to play both forward positions in his 15 minutes. Basketball-Reference.com, which records the positions in which a given player plays, shows that Dunleavy has played most of his minutes at power forward in four of his seasons. Korver was usually restricted to playing as the shooting guard. Dunleavy can seemingly play three positions successfully, while Korver’s presence could arguably only be felt at one.

Defense

Dunleavy isn’t known as a great defender, but at 6’9″ with a matching wingspan,  his length can bother an offensive player. He is cut from a similar cloth as fellow Duke products Shane Battier or Dahntay Jones, in the sense that they use grit and length to make up for possible athletic deficiencies.  NBA.com states that Korver gave up a staggering 47.5 percent opponent’s field goal percentage on defense. On the other, better hand, Dunleavy has only given up a 39.2 percent  shooting percentage, which is actually lower than Kawhi Leonard‘s 43.7 percent.While Dunleavy has  covered nearly three fewer shots per game, his defensive efficiency is notable, and easily better than Korver’s.

Rebounding

Korver was not a poor rebounder by any means during his time in Atlanta. He never was on the court for his glass-cleaning expertise, but the three of four he did grab always helped out. Dunleavy is similar in that sense, but as a whole, he brings more to the table.

Korver’s 5.6 percent rebound percentage, which is the amount of available rebounds a player could grab, was second to last on the team. Dunleavy’s 7.4 percent would be tenth on the team. This, along with his 6’9″ height, allows Coach Bud to play Dunleavy extended minutes at power forward.

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How do you believe Dunleavy fits in with the Hawks? Will he be better than Korver? Worse?  Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.