Kris Dunn has been one of the better players for the Utah Jazz all season long. The soon-to-be 30-year-old point guard is the best perimeter defender the team has and is often the opposing team's best scorer for good reason. What he can do out on the court is a rarity for the Jazz, who rank 29th in the NBA in total defense and boost only two players on the team currently with a positive defensive box plus minus; Dunn and Walker Kessler.
The Jazz need Dunn, as evidenced by Jazz head coach Will Hardy has been starting him once again as the team comes down the stretch. For all the raving that Keyonte George and Collin Sexton have got from an offensive standpoint, both men are detriments to the defense. Neither man really tries, and both give up a lot of points.
It makes starting them at the same time nearly impossible unless you're willing to give up 130 points. The team needs to overhaul the defense, and it may mean trading away either George or Sexton (if not both). The team shouldn't be all in on any of the guards right now, considering, save for Dunn, they all have huge holes in their game that limits the team.
While Dunn isn't an expert marksman, he has proven to be a very reliable offensive player, as long as he's not the first three options at any one given time. Where he shines is his ability to distribute the ball and play defense, the two things he does better, arguably than George or Sexton.
Keeping Dunn around is a must going forward. Fans are mad, and while there's a contingent on outlets like Twitter/X that are fine with tanking, most fans hate it. Especially since the team was already making strides to the playoffs the last two seasons. The fandom wants the Jazz to return to glory and not have to suffer through a near-decade of a rebuild like the Philadelphia 76ers.
If the goal is still to win as fast as possible, then the Jazz have got to bring back Dunn for next season. He's too important to the health of the defense for the Jazz to lose him.