Chicago Bulls: Al-Farouq Aminu will exercise player option, return for 21-22

A busy offseason ahead for the Chicago Bulls did get some clarity on the afternoon of May 18. A report from ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski on his Twitter timeline early this week showed the intent that Bulls newly acquired veteran forward Al-Farouq Aminu intends to opt into the final year of his current contract ahead of the start of the 2021-22 season.

Aminu was set to have a player option that he could pick up heading into the final year of his current contract this offseason. His contract through the 2020-21 season paid him a base salary of roughly $9.7 million. If he does follow through here and opt in to the final year of his contract, then Aminu will be due a base salary of around $10.2 million.

Given that first-year head coach Billy Donovan did not give Aminu much playing time off the bench after landing with the Bulls from the Orlando Magic at the trade deadline, it’s hard to tell where his role with this team will fall moving forward. Aminu played in 17 games with the Magic pre-trade deadline (March 25), and then just six with the Bulls in the stretch run of the season.

Chicago Bulls looking to get Al-Farouq Aminu for one more season

If there’s a plan to play Aminu in the wing/forward rotation more heading into next season, then his contract could be a bit more valuable to the Bulls. But if he’s going to get the same amount of playing time he did off the bench down the stretch in the season that was, this is going to really weigh down the team’s cap sheet.

It is nice that the Bulls get off the $8 million anchor of a contract that was due to big man Cristiano Felicio this offseason. But keeping Aminu around could present the front office with another challenge at hand this offseason if they don’t want to play him more next season.

In 23 games played between his time with the Bulls and Magic in the season that was, Aminu averaged 4.4 points per game, 4.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks. And he shot 38.4 percent from the field, 21.6 percent from beyond the arc, and 81.8 percent from the free-throw line.

The Bulls wound up finishing up the 2020-21 regular season with a record of 31-41 following their May 16 win at home at the United Center over the divisional foe Milwaukee Bucks. They also missed the postseason for the fourth straight year.