Chicago Bulls: What if Kris Dunn is still on the team in October?

The Chicago Bulls have an interesting point guard problem on their hands. What will happen if Kris Dunn is still on their roster during the 2019-20 season?

During the 2018-19 season, the Chicago Bulls struggled mightily at the point guard position. Kris Dunn simply wasn’t performing at a level that he needed to be performing at in order for the Bulls to have any success.

This summer, it was clear that Chicago wanted to fix the issues at the point guard position. They drafted Coby White – a high-upside kid – with the seventh overall pick and acquired Tomas Satoransky – a solid veteran – in July. They also re-signed fan-favorite Ryan Arcidiacono to a 3-year, $9 million deal. All of that means Chicago has four point guards on their roster that deserve playing time. How’s that going to work?

Dunn has been the Bulls’ most frequent starting point guard for the last two seasons, so I doubt he’ll take kindly to being demoted to the bench, but that’s the reality that Dunn is about to face.

You could make an argument for either White or Sato to be the day-one starter. Those in the Coby White camp will say the Bulls should throw the rookie into the fire and see what happens. You know, let him learn on the fly. Those in the Tomas Satoransky camp will say that Sato is currently the best point guard on the roster and has the highest likelihood of leading the Bulls to success.

The arguments are solid on both sides. There’s no case to be made for Kris Dunn as the day-one starter, though. He’s had two years to prove what he can do, and he’s fallen short of expectations. But it’s not like Dunn will step in and be the backup point guard, either. That position will likely be reserved for whichever one of White/Sato isn’t starting. So will Dunn be the third-stringer? Doubtful.

Ryan Arcidiacono doesn’t have as much pure skill or potential as Dunn, but he’s a much better option off the bench. He can shoot better than Dunn, he works harder than Dunn and he doesn’t care about individual stats. If the Bulls handle the point guard carousel correctly, Arch will be playing more than Dunn.

None of this is new information, though. It’s all been known for quite some time. The Bulls drafted White on June 20, the Sato deal became public on July 1 and Arch agreed to his deal on July 2. For almost two months, I’ve been expecting the Bulls to move on from Dunn. That’s how long they’ve known they have three point guards better suited to help Chicago succeed. But yet, here we are in late August, and Kris Dunn is still a Chicago Bull.

Do the Bulls plan on keeping Dunn? Are they going to deal him at some point? What’s going on?

Obviously, there’s no way to know what the Bulls are going to do with Dunn. But if they keep him around, he’ll be playing behind White, Sato and Arch. That will only hurt his already-low trade value.

If the Bulls are smart, they’ll deal Dunn as quickly as they can. He shouldn’t be playing over any of the other point guards on the Bulls’ roster and making him stick around as a benchwarmer will likely cause tension in the locker room. It’s time for the Bulls to be done with Dunn.