There looks to be interest brewing from the Los Angeles Clippers for Chicago Bulls point guard Kris Dunn once free agency begins.
Ahead of the trade deadline, a handful of players for the Chicago Bulls looked like they could be on the move. But one of the names that remained constant on the trade market for the Bulls heading into deadline day was point guard Kris Dunn.
The Dunn trade rumors have been around since last offseason. Nothing ever came of them through the 2020 trade deadline. The Bulls decided to hang onto him past the deadline. He did wind up having a season-ending knee injury.
However, Dunn appears to be piquing the interest of other teams around the NBA for the next cycle of free agency. Whenever the next offseason is set to come around, the Bulls will see Dunn hit the restricted free agent market.
According to a report from Jovan Buha of The Athletic, there is some interest between the Clippers and Dunn when he becomes a restricted free agent. The Clippers are about the first team we’ve heard about having bona fide interest with Dunn in his impending free agency.
Dunn is currently in the final year of his rookie contract. This is his third year with the Bulls. He was traded to Chicago after the Minnesota Timberwolves drafted him fifth overall in the 2016 NBA Draft. Dunn was in that famed trade deal that involved sending small forward Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves for a return of Dunn, shooting guard Zach LaVine, and power forward Lauri Markkanen.
Meanwhile, the Clippers are sitting in the midst of a potential title run this year, whenever the season starts up out of the novel coronavirus-induced hiatus. Forwards Paul George and Kawhi Leonard are leading the Clippers to new heights in their first year in Los Angeles.
In 51 games played this season, Dunn averaged 7.3 points per game, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists, while shooting 44.4 percent fromt eh field, 25.9 percent from beyond the arc, and 74.1 percent from the charity stripe. He also averaged two steals per game and had an NBA best steal rate of 3.8 percent.
Dunn clearly brings a lot of value to the table defensively. His offensive game still needs work. He’s not a good three-point shooter, but he can effectively get to the rim and shoot decently from the free-throw line.
The Clippers held a record of 44-20 prior to the NBA hiatus. Meanwhile, the Bulls held a record of 22-43. One of these two teams appears to be headed in the right direction, while the other one will have a lot of questions entering the fourth year of the rebuild.