Chicago Bulls: 4 factors that will determine if Kris Dunn stays a Bull
By Abe Rotbart
The Chicago Bulls are currently carrying six players that can log minutes at point guard. The assumption is Kris Dunn won’t stick with the team. Let’s look at 4 ways Dunn can still win over his coach and management.
It is no secret that the Chicago Bulls were high on Kris Dunn when he was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 5th pick of the 2016 NBA draft.
Since his coach was Tom Thibodeau, who is not a big fan of playing rookies, he only started 7 of the 78 games he played in. Most of Dunn’s 17.1 minutes per game during that 2016-17 season was as a backup to Ricky Rubio, who started all 75 games he played in.
As a former Big East Player and Defensive Player of the Year, he was presented with a new start in his second NBA season. Dunn arrived as part of the Jimmy Butler trade, that included Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen coming to Chicago.
His difficult childhood and rags to riches story has been well documented. Always the underdog, Dunn welcomes the challenge to remain at the top. But that challenge when it comes to the Bulls, may be insurmountable.
In his first year in Chicago, Dunn’s play was rocky at times. Yet, considering his lack of NBA experience, his statistics were quite impressive. He ended 2017-18 averaging – per 36 minutes of play -16.5 points, 2.5 steals, 7.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds.
Every one of those numbers was better than what Tomas Satoransky, the player recently signed as a free agent and expected to be the new starting point guard, put up last season.
Many thought at that point that Dunn may wind up being the best of the three players received for Butler. He came into the 2018-19 season with the starting point guard position his to lose.
However, things were suddenly different. Zach LaVine was finally on the floor fully recovered from an ACL injury.
Dunn was never able to make the adjustment to play with a ball dominant guard like LaVine. Luckily for Dunn, the Bulls do not want LaVine handling the ball as much as he has.
An elite defender, Kris Dunn and Tomas Satoransky, when on the floor together, could be the best defensive back court in the NBA. The Bulls have openly stated that Dunn is still in their plans.
What will he have to do for that to happen?
Here are 4 factors that will determine the future of Kris Dunn with the Chicago Bulls.