Like fellow Australian Josh Giddey, there was one big question mark over Dyson Daniels heading into this year’s NBA draft — shooting.
The Bendigo product admitted it himself last month, telling reporters that shooting had been a point of focus during his offseason workouts as he prepared for his rookie season.
“I have an all-around game but I’ve been focusing on my shot, for sure,” he said.
“A lot of hours in the gym with our shooting coach, Fred, before and after practice and coming back at night.”
That Fred he was talking about is Fred Vinson, who has gained a reputation around the league as a “shot doctor” for helping both Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram improve from deep.
Oklahoma City also brought in one of the league’s most well-renowned shooting coaches, Chip Engelland, this offseason and Giddey is already starting to notice the difference.
On Wednesday Daniels had his best chance yet to announce himself to the NBA world, playing a prominent role for the injury-hit Pelicans against the Dallas Mavericks.
The Australian made an immediate impact on both ends and will only get better with more minutes.
Giddey warned earlier in the year that those who “don’t know” about Daniels will “know about him soon”, declaring him “an NBA player for a really long time”.
The NBA world definitely knows about Daniels now and when it comes to his shooting, it will only continue to improve with the guidance of the highly-rated Vinson.
Foxsports.com.au spoke to The Athletic’s Will Guillory and Locked On Pelicans’ Jake Madison before the season started to get a sense for why Vinson is so highly-regarded and how he could help Daniels become Australia’s latest success story in the NBA.
Unlike Engelland, Vinson is not a new addition at New Orleans. He is entering the 13th season for the Pelicans as their assistant coach and shooting mastermind.
“He’s been here through multiple head coaches,” Madison said.
“It’s a guy they value very, very highly. They feel that’s the biggest hole in his [Daniels] game right now, his three-point shot, but if they can develop that and now that this team has a track record of being able to develop that, they think that Dyson Daniels is going to be a good shooter by the time he’s done with Fred Vinson.”
Vinson’s track record speaks for itself, with Ball in particular seeing immediate improvements after rebuilding his shot with New Orleans’ miracle worker.
“I came in, and my shot wasn’t working,” Ball told Guillory back in 2021.
“Pretty much all the credit goes to Fred. He got with me when I first came here — the first week — and we’ve just been grinding ever since. You can see the work paying off.”
Ball went from shooting just 31.5 percent of his 3-pointers in two seasons at the Lakers to 37.6 percent under Vinson at the Pelicans and eventually 42.3 per cent at the Bulls last season.
“He’s known as just a guy who’s really able to break down shots with guys and break down that technique and has really got them to show really great improvement,” Guillory said.
“The guy he gets the most credit for is Lonzo Ball. Lonzo started off at LA with the ugly-looking jumper. Him and Fred really got in the lab and really fixed his form, got his confidence up and Lonzo was around what 41 to 42 per cent as a 3-point shooter last year.”
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Even Herb Jones, who Guillory said “didn’t even really like putting up 3-pointers” during his college career, shot 33.7 per cent from beyond the arc in his rookie season under Vinson.
“He turned Herb into a guy who was just really confident as a shooter,” Guillory said.
“Fred is a guy who puts in a tonne of work, he understands how to get results out of guys as far as really breaking down every little thing about their jumper and fixing the issues and that’s the process he’s already started with Dyson.
“He’s helping him keep the ball in front of him, helping him speed up his routine with his jump shot and I’ve already seen him putting in the work and they’re going put in a whole lot this year. I think we’re gonna see results relatively quickly from Dyson because I know the way Fred works.”
Daniels shot just over 45 per cent from the field and 30 per cent from deep in 29 games for G League Ignite last season but it is not like he will need to be a lights-out shooter in New Orleans anyway.
It is not why they drafted him. If he ends up being a consistent shooting option, that is only a bonus on top of the defensive versatility and playmaking upside the Australian has.
NBA reporter Stephen Noh went as far as to write in an article for Sporting News that Daniels can be the “biggest steal” of his class if Vinson can turn Daniels’ shooting into a strength.
Regardless, as both Guillory and Madison pointed out, it is not as if the Pelicans are stretched for scoring options anyway.
“When you look at the team he landed with, the Pelicans have got really good, dominant offensive players,” Giullory said.
“Zion, BI (Brandon Ingram), CJ (McCollum), even Jonas Valanciunas is a guy who can force double teams to get those guys open shots and those shots are going to be available for Dyson when he’s in the game.
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“So if he is knocking those down, then we already know the way he can help you on the defensive end, playing in transition, hitting the boards. He does all those little things, it’s just a matter of being able to complement the best players with the Pels.”
“You don’t need him to be a lights-out shooter and he’s going to get open shots because with a guy like Zion Williamson out there, with the way he scores at the rim and the percentage he scores at the rim, that’s the equivalent of a guy shooting 45 per cent from deep,” added Madison.
“If he can get close to 38 per cent, even 36 per cent, I think that’s going to burn teams and defences and that’s going to open up that offence a little bit more. I think when you start to kind of put it in that perspective, those are very attainable things.”
There was plenty of pressure on Daniels too in his season with Ignite, operating as the lead guard alongside teammates that were also still developing their games.
Unlike fellow Australian Giddey, Daniels is unlikely to command a starting spot for the Pelicans unless injuries strike, which will only further simplify his role early on.
“He had to learn how to be a point guard and get those other guys involved but I think playing in New Orleans is going to be much more simple for him,” Guillory said.
“Just knock down open shots, create opportunities when they’re available and do what you do best, which is just lock down on defence and just make plays in open spaces.
“I think when you’re in a league where you’re able to come in and just say: ‘All I have to do is knock down open shot and I’ll be good’, I think that’s a great place to be if you’re Dyson so I think the pressure will be off him and he won’t be asked to do as much as he had to do last year with the G League Ignite.”
Daniels had a very limited role for the Pelicans early this season, playing just three minutes in the opener before playing a significant role against Dallas on Wednesday.
It was only a brief glimpse of the potential Daniels has and New Orleans coach Willie Green said in the pre-season that the Australian’s defence and competitive spirit should see him get more minutes as the season progresses.
