4. Re-signed Ayo Dosunmo
Signed restricted free agent guard Ayo Dosunmo to a 3-year, $21 million contract.
We pick things up from the last slide, where we discussed the Bulls’ love of on-ball defensive guards. They found a real gem of that archetype in the 2021 NBA Draft, taking a player in Ayo Dosunmo 38th overall who was a high-volume scorer in college, then developing him into a rotation player and high-end defender.
The problem is that the offensive game is not there; he doesn’t have the burst to create offense against NBA defenders, so he is limited to scoring in transition. That kind of player has to be an excellent shooter to thrive in the league and in contrast to Jevon Carter, Dosunmo hit only 31.2 percent from deep last season.
He is just 23 years old and is back on a reasonable contract; it made sense to bring him back and “retain the asset” in order to move him in another deal later on. As currently constructed, however, trying to shoehorn two of Carter, Dosunmo, and Alex Caruso into a lineup seems perilous.
If he can sharpen his jumpshot his value will rise, but if he doesn’t he could get squeezed by the presence of Carter and end up as a contract the Bulls can’t move. Even with Ball sidelined, the Bulls will be trying to find minutes for Caruso, Carter, Dosunmo, Coby White, and Zach LaVine in the backcourt, not to mention sophomore Dalen Terry’s best position likely the 2.
Grade: B-