Grizzlies Season Grades: Dante Cunningham.
(This is the ninth part of an ongoing series where we will grade the Memphis Grizzlies team and franchise for the 2011-2012 season. The first eight parts can be found here: Lionel Hollins, Mike Conley Jr, Tony Allen, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, O.J. Mayo and Marreese Speights.)
When Darrell Arthur went down with a season-ending Achilles injury during one of the Memphis Grizzlies’ practices in December, nobody was quite sure how to react. After all, Arthur was arguably the most dependable bench player for Memphis during the 2010-2011 season and playoff run.
The Grizzlies didn’t panic, but went out and signed restricted free agent Dante Cunningham from the Charlotte Bobcats. Per NBA Rules, the Bobcats had the right to match the offer sheet that the Grizzlies extended to him, but Charlotte declined as Cunningham landed in Memphis on a three-year contract.
Memphis thought that Cunningham would bring a lot of the same things to the team that Arthur did and were proven right. He wasn’t quite as effective on offense, but he was effective as he finished second on the team in field goal percentage. That average would be first if you limited it to all qualifiers (Hamed Haddadi did not get enough shot attempts.)
Cunningham’s ability to identify that he does well and does not do well is one reason that he got so many minutes with the Grizzlies. He stayed his lane, played tough defense and made two or three hustle plays per game to keep the team afloat.
Another trait that earned him minutes was ability to guard the small forward and power forward position. That type of flexibility is always a luxury, but for a guy to float seamlessly between 3/4 was a real asset for Lionel Hollins throughout the season. Cunningham is a little undersized to really bang bodies with a bigger power forward like Zach Randolph, but he can more than hold his own against stretch 4s like David West and Luis Scola.
Unfortunately for the Grizzlies and Cunningham, the first round series against the Los Angeles Clippers wasn’t a match-up that favored him as the Clippers often utilized two true post players, cutting Cunningham’s minutes drastically.
Adding to what surely must have been frustrating for him was the fact that the Grizzlies struggled to score all series and Cunningham’s defense was way ahead of his offense. If the Grizzlies needed a bucket, they were better off with reserves like Marreese Speights or Quincy Pondexter rather than tabbing Cunningham.
Cunningham did make his mark in game 4 of the series, as he and Hamed Haddadi teamed up to will the Grizzlies back into the game, but the Grizzlies eventually lost and Cunningham played just three minutes in a decisive game 6. He was also part of the botched rotations by Coach Hollins in game 7 that saw the Grizzlies leading going into the 4th quarter, but losing by 10.
Cunningham’s contract is a decent bargain as he is owed just $6 million over the life of the deal, with the third year being a team option. That means that if the Grizzlies decide to, they can let him go with no penalty after this next season.
Best Game:
Cunningham did it on a neat 6-9 shooting and even added in four blocks as he did a little bit of anything to help the Grizzlies pick up a crucial win without Gasol.
2011-2012 season grade: C+
Cunningham is a nice player, a guy that you can win with. His tweener status probably keeps him from getting regular minutes, as does his limited offensive game, but what Cunningham does he does well and with a lot of energy. He’s a quality role player and is on a more-than-fair contract. More importantly, he’s good for team chemistry and seems just as content to play 40 minutes as he does when he plays 12.