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NBA Season Preview: Picks and projections

By Staff

Oct 6, 2016; San Jose, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) looks towards an official during a break in the action against the Sacramento Kings in the first quarter at the SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 6, 2016; San Jose, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) looks towards an official during a break in the action against the Sacramento Kings in the first quarter at the SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kris Dunn, Minnesota Timberwolves
Oct 16, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Kris Dunn (3) shoots the ball in front of Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams (12) during the first quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

Who is the Rookie of the Year runner-up?

Buhler: Minnesota Timberwolves’ Kris Dunn behind only the Philadelphia 76ers’ Dario Saric.

Williams: Oklahoma City Thunder big man Domantas Sabonis behind Kris Dunn.

Yeung: Kris Dunn behind Joel Embiid. Writing this from a Starbucks in Palo Alto, CA.

Masterson: Brandon Ingram will work his way into the starting rotation ahead of Luol Deng and enjoy a splendid second half of the season.

Rossman-Reich: Kris Dunn with Dario Saric winning. I think Dunn will get his chance. He may come along slowly at the beginning of the season, but his experience in college will help him translate quickly and push his way for minutes. It may just take some time and his raw numbers will not be enough.

Barnewall: I’m gonna go with Jaylen Brown. The Celtics are gonna win a lot of games, and Brown is gonna be sneaky fun. Might get him some votes but not enough to win it.

Rowell: Tough call. I think the rookie of the year race will be a toss up between Joel Embiid and Buddy Hield and it all just depends on how much usage Hield gets in New Orleans. I feel more confident about Embiid going into the season based on the limited preseason highlights, so give me Hield as the runner up.

Israeli: Rookie of the Year is a stat-based award. Not to say KAT didn’t deserve it last season, but it’s the reason a player like Jahlil Okafor finishes ahead of Justise Winslow in votes. Buddy Hield has a great shot to lead rookies in scoring as a three-point shooter on a depleted Pelicans team. After that, Joel Embiid and Dario Saric may cancel each other out, opening the door for Kris Dunn to grab votes as a super sub in the early season/emerging starting point guard by season’s end.