In an interview with K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu said he’s embracing the opportunity he has in training camp after an uneven second season. With Lonzo Ball still injured, there’s an open competition for the starting point guard role that also involves Jevon Carter and Coby White. The team invested in all three players this summer, re-signing Dosunmu and White while adding Carter in free agency.
“Ultimately, I think that competition is going to help our team in the long run,” Dosunmu said. “We go at each other and try to kill each other in practice. When we’re on the court together, it’s going to make our team much more smooth. Me going into my third year and our core group being together pretty much the same time, it’s getting time for us to turn the corner.”
After falling to the second round in the 2021 draft, Dosunmu became a contributor right away in his first season, starting 40 of the 77 games he played and earning second-team All-Rookie honors. With only a two-year contract, he got to test the market earlier than most players and decided that staying in Chicago was his best move.
“I came into free agency with an open mind that I could be playing anywhere,” Dosunmu said. “Put my feelings aside and basically try to secure what’s best for me and my game and my family for the future. Ultimately with praying, leaving it up to God, that was my path, to sign back with the Bulls.”
There’s more from Chicago:
- Coach Billy Donovan said Patrick Williams will play an integral role this season, but the specifics are still being defined, Johnson adds in another story. Williams worked with the starters on the first day of training camp, but Donovan used Torrey Craig with that unit on Wednesday and plans to give Alex Caruso some time at power forward as well. “I think every player wants to start,” Williams said. “But I want to come in and play my game, however that plays out with the coaching staff. Part of being on a team is you have to trust the people you’re on a team with. You have to trust the plan they have for you. You might have to sacrifice.”
- Craig believes he can provide something the Bulls have been lacking, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “A little bit of toughness,” he said, “a little bit of an edge for guys with raw emotion to say how they feel and wear those emotions on their sleeve.’’ Cowley notes that Patrick Beverley provided those same qualities when he signed with Chicago in February, but he left for Philadelphia during the offseason.
- The Bulls’ added depth has Donovan contemplating a 10-man rotation, Cowley states in a separate story. Donovan may need the team to get off to a fast start, as oddsmakers have him listed as a 4-1 favorite as the first coach to be fired this season, according to the Sun-Times.
Call me crazy but I’m feeling weirdly abt the bulls this year, can see them as a 3-6 seed. Continuity plus underrated additions in Craig and Carter. This team was so good w lonzo and Carters impact as far as shooting and defense can mitigate some of lonzos loss. Also liked cobys development last year . Patwill could be an X factor and I stg as long as they give Vuc the ball more , especially on switches, I like their chances in a top-heavy East.
Weirdly optimistic **
I am with you on that front.
Agreed they were really good the second half of the season when they added Pat Bev.
I would say 5th seed, *maybe* fourth seed if everything breaks right and the Knicks falter, is their ceiling. They aren’t topping the Cavs with their offense so dependent on the midrange game, and the Celtics and Bucks are both clearly better.
Missing any actual PF (Williams is a SF on both ends and I will die on that hill, figure something else out Billy Donovan/Arturas Karnisovas) and their inconsistent offense (which hasn’t been solved at all) are both going to be problems. Maybe Carter can get the offense to work smoothly, but I’m not 100% sold on it. Without Lonzo, the Bulls have looked extremely janky on offense, even after they got Pat Bev. They just rallied and smoothed out the defensive efficacy.
Solid points, but I think Craig can start at pf, and both he and carter should help their shooting while maintaining their defense. The real question mark to me is playmaking. If carter/coby can provide that, as well as Zach (which is quite optimistic), their offense could be in much better shape, but the playmaking piece is def the highest unknown for men
Unknown for me . Smh
LaVine should never be trusted to run plays for others, tbh. He’s a less turnover-prone Jaylen Brown in a lot of ways. He’s elite off-ball, but having him run the offense always looks off.
I’d trust DeRozan to run plays for others more and rely on Carter as more of a secondary playmaker, giving him more energy to focus on that defense. Same with Caruso, Dosunmu, White, and whoever else. It’d make the most of DeRozan’s already present ball-dominance without forcing things. He proved in San Antonio that he’s capable of it. And since defense is the team’s focus, having more defensive versatility and energy is a plus.
Idk if having Craig and Williams be your solutions at the 4 are the best option. Vucevic is best served as a switcher and rebounder, cutting off opposing possessions rather than trying to defend 1v1. And while both Craig and P-Will are good wings, they’re not great against size and strength. I feel like teams with a big, aggressive 4 like the Bucks, Knicks, Cavs, and Raptors will give them fits. Drummond can obviously give you strong rim protection, but running him for long stretches slows down the offense.
I agree w DeRozan v Lavine as playmakers. Ur right abt the Craig/Williams thing, even tho i think Craig could fare better than Williams as a 4 this team desperately needs a bigger 4 fs
I like all of CHI’s off season moves, except bringing back White (even if through a desire not to lose him for so-called “nothing”). Bringing back Vuc and adding Craig and Carter were solid moves.
I don’t like the LaVine-DeRozan combination, but assuming they’re wedded to it (and this should be the final year of that), I think they’ve put the right skill sets around them in terms of giving themselves the best chance to win games.
To me Ayo makes the most sense to start. The Bulls don’t need another high usage player in the starting unit. They need a guy who can play some D, make the open pass and knock down the open jumper.
I think they need someone to fill lonzos role of defense, shooting, and playmaking. Carter fills 2.5 of those, ayo fills 1.5; neither are great playmakers and I say 1.5 bc ayo couldn’t shoot last year. If he finds his jumper again he should have a shot. Idk why coby wouldn’t get w chance to start tho , his playmaking seems to be the best of the 3.
“decided that staying in Chicago was his best move.”
Yeah, right. Did he get any other offers. Donovan first to go this year sounds right. Jim Boylen is waiting.
Donovan should be fired just for thinking of playing Caruso at PF, wtf?