A veteran Chicago guard is being overlooked by the basketball world at large, a pundit claims.
The Chicago Bulls have flown under the radar all summer — which seems to at least somewhat be by design. The Bulls don't want to be noticed. They avoid high-stakes transactions as much as possible, they target mediocrity and cost-cutting, and they cash checks based on a legacy built in the 1990s.
Despite not having made the playoffs for two straight seasons (now three), the Bulls enjoyed the top home game attendance in 2024-25, with their 825,659 United Center fans outflanking the second-place Philadelphia 76ers' 813,621 home game attendees, per ESPN.
The Bulls made exactly two changes to their standard roster this summer, flipping recently re-signed reserve point guard Lonzo Ball to the Cleveland Cavaliers for 10th man small forward Isaac Okoro and zero draft equity, and re-signing backup point guard Tre Jones.
Otherwise, Chicago is set to trot out the same middling club that finished with a 39-43 record and got obliterated during its lone play-in tournament game this spring.
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But as a young-ish, pseudo-competent club, the Bulls do sport some intriguing players who could be poached by other teams for, apparently, the cost of a distressed asset and no draft picks.
One veteran Chicago Bulls guard in particular is being overlooked by the NBA world at large, according to Dan Favale of Bleacher Report: defense-first guard Ayo Dosunmu.
"While he shouldn't be running the offense for more than fits and bursts, his rim pressure and finishing are decidedly above-average for someone his size," Favale notes.
The 6-foot-5 University of Illinois alum, a native Chicagoan, has been toggled along all three perimeter positions by head coach Billy Donovan. Donovan loves playing a bit undersized, and has thus employed Dosunmu a bit at small forward.
In a perfect world — as Favale observes — Dosunmu is sicced onto the opposing team's lead ball handler. Still, he has the athleticism and strength to at least hold his own against normal-sized wings.
"He has also shown glimmers of improved playmaking coming around ball screens and knows how to facilitate when attacking downhill," Favale raves. "Payton Pritchard and Tyrese Haliburton were the only players last season to match his scoring efficiency (57.1 percent) and assist rate (12.4) on drives while finishing at least as many of them (371)."
K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network reported earlier this summer that Dosunmu and veteran starting two-guard Coby White have been the two trade targets most buzzed about on the Bulls roster.
Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu are the two names @KCJHoop is hearing most in trade talks involving Bulls guards. pic.twitter.com/8i4t8XhuEp
— Bulls on CHSN (@CHSN_Bulls) July 1, 2025
The 25-year-old is extension-eligible for Chicago this summer. He's on an expiring $7.5 million contract, and if he and Chicago don't come to terms on a deal, Dosunmu will not be without suitors as an unrestricted free agent.
In just 46 games last year (he fractured his shoulder in March and was ruled out for the rest of the season), Dosunmu averaged 12.3 points on .492/.328/.785 shooting splits, 4.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.9 steals a night.
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Category: Basketball
