Entering this offseason, I have to admit, you could count me among the many fans critical of the direction the Chicago Bulls have taken in recent years. In today’s ring-obsessed NBA culture, it’s all too easy to fall head-first into the pit of pessimism if you aren’t careful. All things considered, however, the Bulls have surprisingly put together quite an impressive string of moves this summer.
By re-signing Coby White and Nikola Vucevic to very reasonable deals, jumping back into the draft to select Julian Phillips (and giving up practically nothing to do it), and adding two quality veterans that address the Bulls’ greatest needs in Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig, it’s hard to call this offseason anything less than a success thus far.
Still, the Bulls haven’t quite taken a big swing for the fences as they did back in 2021 when Chicago acquired DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso all in the span of a single week. If the Bulls are to make a similarly sized improvement as that offseason, they’d be wise to pull off these four moves before the summer draws to a close.
After getting off to a strong start, the Bulls could wrap up the perfect offseason by accomplishing these four things.
4. The Bulls must bring Ayo Dosunmu back at all costs
Outside of Charlotte’s P.J. Washington, Ayo Dosunmu now looks to be the best player remaining in restricted free agency. While that restricted tag can keep teams at bay for a while, it’s only a matter of time until a big fish comes in with an offer too hefty for the Bulls to match. Allowing a rebuilding team to come in and steal Dosunmu would be an egregious error on the front office’s part, so I’m holding out hope that we hear news of an extension soon.
Sure, he took a step back in year two, but a sophomore slump is hardly a unique occurrence for guards in today’s NBA. Now that the Bulls have a dedicated shooting coach, hopefully Ayo can adjust his three-point stroke and return to the realm of the 37.6% shooting we saw from him as a rookie. For that reason, I think we should be willing to wait just a little longer to see this thing through.
After all, I would imagine Chicago learned its lesson when they allowed Lauri Markkanen to leave in free agency, only to evolve into an All-Star caliber player once finally utilized in the right role and allowed to realize his full potential. Now, I’m not claiming Ayo to be a sure-fire All-Star here, but I do think it’s important to readjust our expectations for Dosunmu. Once he’s no longer being forced to start due to injury and illness, I believe he can excel as a quality reserve player in this league.