2. Drafting Ayo Dosunmu in the second round
As the lone roster move on this list that wasn’t a trade, it’s still hard to see this draft pick as anything short of a fleece. When the Chicago Bulls selected Ayo Dosunmu with the 38th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, they executed the type of savvy move that every contender needs to make in order to reach their full potential.
After three incredible years for Illinois, any local fans who’d been paying attention knew just what Dosunmu was capable of. Fortunately for the Chicago Bulls, it didn’t take too long for the rest of the world to find out as well.
Dosunmu’s success has been especially pivotal given the fact that Chicago entered the 2021 NBA Draft with no first-round draft pick. After sending it to Orlando in exchange for Vucevic, the Magic would in turn select standout rookie Franz Wagner. When pick No. 38 came around, the pressure was on the Bulls to make up for their errors by finding a diamond in the rough.
Drafting Ayo Dosunmu with the 38th pick changed the Chicago Bulls’ future.
Almost as if it were fated to be, Dosunmu was still available on the draft board when it came time for the Bulls to pick, and from there the rest is history.
Averaging 10.9 points, 5.4 assists, and 3.6 rebounds as a starter for the Bulls, Dosunmu provided the type of well-rounded production you just don’t expect from rookies these days. He can stretch defenses with his shooting and open the floor with his slashing; he has the vision to create for his teammates the lockdown defensive ability to pick up the hardest defensive assignment on the floor.
Ayo is the complementary glue guy that can help the rest of his team reach their full potential, but none of this would have been possible if Karnisovas and Eversley didn’t have the foresight to see what every other team in the league apparently missed.