Bulls starting point guard Kris Dunn will be sidelined for the next four to six weeks after suffering a sprained MCL, the team announced today (via Twitter). The injury occurred in the second quarter of Monday’s loss to Dallas, per head coach Fred Hoiberg (Twitter link via The Chicago Sun-Times).
Dunn, who missed the start of the season due to the birth of his child, was making his regular season debut on Monday. While he was able to stay in and finish the game after sustaining the injury, he’ll now be out of action until at least late November, according to the team.
With Dunn set to return within six weeks or so, the Bulls are unlikely to make a roster move to acquire point guard depth, particularly since they already did so over the weekend — the club added Shaquille Harrison to a group that also includes Cameron Payne and Ryan Arcidiacono, and those three guards figure to handle the position in Dunn’s absence. Tyler Ulis may also see some action, but he’s on a two-way contract, so any day he plays or practices with the team will count toward his 45-day NBA limit.
Payne, who started Chicago’s first two games of the season, is the best bet to claim Dunn’s spot in the starting five. All three of the Bulls’ reserve point guards will be looking to make an impression on team management with Dunn on the shelf, as Payne is in a contract year and Harrison and Arcidiacono don’t have fully guaranteed salaries.
The Bulls will now be without Dunn, Lauri Markkanen, and Denzel Valentine for the time being as they look to rebound from an 0-3 start.
Shaq Harrison should start for his defense. He should have been the starter in Phoenix, but I guess they needed more offense apparently
I thought two-players’ 45-day clock doesn’t start ticking until the G-league has officially started….
It starts when G League training camp starts, which happened this week.
Cameron Payne, can someone please tell me one single above-average NBA skill or trait that he possesses? He’s TERRIBLE.
Damn. Well, the goal this year was for this young team to grow and take the next step. With Markkanen and now Dunn out til December, they might as well tank… again and reset next season with a high lottery pick.
This organization has made the playoffs A LOT over the last 30+ years. So, being a 40 win team and maybe sneaking in to a 7th or 8th seed really serves no purpose. It would be better in the long run to be a 10-15 win team.