Getty Ayo Dosunmu #12 of the Chicago Bulls.
The Chicago Bulls’ roster has a glut of guards and could stand to thin out the group slightly while adding to another area.
One of those guards – third-year local product Ayo Dosunmu – has gone from surprising second-round pick to improbable starter to almost-forgotten man in the Bulls’ rotation. He has to contend with Alex Caruso, Jevon Carter, and Coby White at point guard as well as Zach LaVine on the wing.
With all of the bodies, the Bulls might be wise to find a new home for Dosunmu.
“It isn’t hard to see the logic behind the Rockets taking a relatively cheap flier on a 23-year-old who’s shown enough promise to potentially join their long-term nucleus,” wrote Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report on October 19.
Bulls get:
Rockets get:
– Ayo Dosunmu
“Dosunmu impressed as a rookie, then regressed as a sophomore,” Buckley wrote. “But his defense and tenacity feel right in line with what Houston is trying to build.”
Selected with the No. 38 overall pick in 2021, Dosunmu started 40 games as a rookie and led the team with 77 total appearances. Last season, however, he mostly stagnated while seeing his three-point efficiency dip precipitously.
Head coach Billy Donovan removed Dosunmu from the starting lineup twice, first in favor of Caruso, and then Patrick Beverley. Still, the Bulls brought Dosunmu back on a three-year, $21 million contract this offseason. He was among the names mentioned in consideration for the starting point guard job again this preseason.
But White has seized control of the role potentially leaving Dosunmu fighting for minutes.
“Dosunmu could wind up checking a lot of the same boxes as Tate,” Buckley argues. “But the former has more room to grow his game going forward.”
Jae’Sean Tate Would Bolster Bulls’ Frontcourt Depth
Tate is nearly five years older than Dosunmu and is in the second year of a three-year, $20.6 million contract. He was an undrafted free agent out of Ohio State in 2020. The 27-year-old forward is listed at the same height as Dosunmu – 6-foot-4 – but is 30 pounds heavier.
That makes him better equipped to handle the larger matchups he faces at forward compared to Dosunmu at guard.
nice moves by @o_tate_!
It’s an area the Bulls could still use some proven depth too.
They have DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams at the forward spots. Chicago also has LaVine play plenty of 3 in Donovan’s smaller lineups, and they signed Torrey Craig to push Williams if not take the starting power forward role outright. Beyond that, though they are thin with the likes of Terry Taylor as the only other experienced forward on the roster.
Dosunmu averaged 8.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists last season. Tate posted a 9.1/3.8/2.7 line for Houston. Injuries limited the latter to just 31 appearances last season but he appeared in 70 and 78 games (77 starts) in each of his first two seasons, respectively.
Both players were All-Rookie selections in their respective inaugural seasons, making this more a matter of preference and fit than talent.
Bulls Start Will Determine Trade Deadline Plans
It seems unlikely the Bulls would move Dosunmu at this juncture in the NBA calendar. They have already shown they value him with the new contract.
Back-to-back threes by Ayo!
But the regular season is also upon us and teams that reach this point tend to let things play out into the campaign before shaking up the roster. The trade deadline in February could be a better target date for something to happen barring a disastrous start for the Bulls and, even more specifically, for Dosunmu.