Marquese Chriss – Chriss has two obvious areas of improvement; defense, and rebounding.

Dudley will show him how important positioning is for both, and hopefully have his high basketball IQ rub off on the athletically gifted, but inexperienced rookie. Dudley relies on his mind to unlock his talent, Chriss relies on his athleticism.

If Marquese can develop the mental side of the game, it will help him fulfill his incredible potential. Chriss will also need to continue to improve his shooting and learn how to use improved range to effectively create space on the floor for other players.

Dudley will challenge him to get better every day and won’t let him take plays off.

Devin Booker – Dudley will hopefully have an impact on showing Booker how, as a guard, he can still be a valuable defender on the wing. Booker was a well below average defender last year (ranked 94th of 96 in DRPM / Archie Goodwin was 96th), but at only 19 years old, he has the IQ and size to improve under the tutelage of the Junkyard Dog.

Booker is known to have a willingness to learn, and Dudley a willingness to teach. This could be a great mentor/mentee relationship because both have high IQ’s but lack elite athleticism (Booker is a better athlete than Dudley).

If Booker can become even an average NBA defender, he has all-star potential at shooting guard.

T.J. Warren – T.J. has always had the ability to score in and around the painted area – 51% on two-pointers in his career.

Warren only started 4 games last season and missed 35 games due to injury. Before his injury, he worked to extend his range to the three-point line (40% from 3 point on 1.5 attempts), but didn’t show the confidence from distance the Suns were hoping for.

However, with Dudley, Warren can learn to unlock his potential from long-range, making him a much more difficult player to guard.

Warren is another player who needs work on the defensive side of the ball (75th out of 79 SF’s in DRPM). Dudley will be able to show him how to use positioning to guard bigger players.

If the Suns decide to use Warren at power forward in small-ball lineups, like they did a bit last year, defensive improvement is a must.

Suns fans should be psyched to be getting an extra coach on the floor to aid in the development of all the exciting young talent the Suns have.

Dudley fits offensively and defensively into what the Suns are trying to do. His contract is an excellent value he would provide on the court, let alone the leadership he is going to provide off of it.

Score one for McD and the Suns.