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The Chicago Bulls are entering a youth movement.
It will be headlined by former first-round picks Coby White and Patrick Williams and 2024 No. 11 overall pick Matas Buzelis.
But the Bulls have also gotten significant mileage out of one of their former second-round picks, Chicago native Ayo Dosunmu. Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale argues Dosunmu, the No. 38 overall pick of the 2021 draft, is deserving of more recognition and a greater role.
“The three-year, $21 million contract that Ayo Dosunmu signed with the Chicago Bulls last summer looked like a bargain in real time. It is certified highway robbery now,” Favale wrote on July 20. “Monitoring his development on offense from here is a must. The Bulls appear to have charted a more gradual course this offseason. They also remain chock full of guards–most notably White and Josh Giddey, both of whom will usurp Dosunmu in the initiator pecking order.
“If Chicago isn’t prepared to titrate up the latter’s volume, consider this my not-so-veiled way of pleading with other teams to trade for him.”
Dosunmu set career highs in 2023-24, averaging 12.2 points and shooting 40.3% on 3.9 attempts from beyond the arc per game. The Bulls guard also tied his career-high mark with 2.8 rebounds and chipped in 3.2 assists.
Favale ranked Dosunmu as the second most “underrated” player in the NBA. He finished second on Favale’s list.
Ayo Dosunmu’s Minutes Among Several Potential Issues for Bulls in 2024-25
Playing time could be tricky to come by consistently. White had a breakout season in 2023-24 commanding touches. Giddey is a non-shooting point guard who operates best on the ball.
But the Bulls also still havr veterans in Nikola Vucevic and Zach LaVine. LaVine and Vucevic have been named in trade rumors during the 2024 offseason, but the former has been mired in speculation since the 2023 trade deadline.
“Strangeness in the guard rotation is going to be an issue, as is a suboptimal mix of veterans and young players,” Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes wrote on July 20. “Add to that the fact that LaVine, Vooch and perhaps even Ball should know they’re only here until the team gets an offer good enough to move them, and the vibes could be uncomfortable on top of everything else.”
Ball is in the final season of a four-year, $80 million contract.
However, has not played since the 2021-22 season following a knee injury that required three surgeries, including a ligament replacement. He has been replaced in his role as the Bulls’ starting point guard taken first by Dosunmu and Alex Caruso in 2022-23 and White in 2023-24.
Giddey is postioned to assume that role in 2024-25 after the Bulls acquired him from the Thunder for Caruso over offseason.
The Chicago Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley reported there was no market for either LaVine or Vucevic on July 14.
The Bulls expect LaVine to open camp with them.
“We expect Zach being fully healthy. And he is healthy. I think he can help this group next year. He’s been professional,” Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said, per NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson on July 15. “Again, he’s healthy. We expect him to be with us at the start of training camp.”
LaVine is a two-time All-Star and will also command touches if he indeed remains with the team into the season. The same goes for Vucevic.
How that impacts Dosunmu and the rest of the Bulls’ youth remains to be season.
Bulls Add Another Guard to Roster
The Bulls announced the signing of guard DJ Steward on July 21. Like Dosunmu, Steward is a Chicago native. He had a strong showing during NBA 2K25 Summer League in Las Vegas, particularly in their fourth outing.
Steward scored 37 points in a 103-99 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on July 19.
Steward averaged 17.4 points, 6.4 assists (with 2.2 turnovers), 3.0 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in his five Summer League appearances.
He shot 40% from beyond the arc on 6.0 deep attempts per game.
“No surprise to hear Bulls are signing the Chicago native to a 2-way contract,” “Gimme The Hot Sauce” host Mark Shanowski said in a post on X on July 21. “Steward did an excellent job of running the offense during Summer League & showed off 3 point shooting range. Good developmental prospect to play for @windycitybulls this season.”
Adding Steward is unlikely to impact Dosunmu and the rest of the Bulls’ guards.
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