After signing a big deal in the offseason, Ayo Dosunmu didn’t see much action in the opener for the Chicago Bulls.
Entering year three, Dosunmu looked to take a step forward in his NBA career. Averaging 8.7 points, 2.9 assists, and 2.7 rebounds per game, the former Illini star has been looked at as a key piece moving forward.
This sentiment seemed to be solidified this offseason when Dosunmu signed a new contract to stay with Chicago. The deal was for three years, $21-million. That is the money you give a key contributor to the team. But through the first game of the season, Dosunmu has been all but a key contributor.
On Wednesday night, the Bulls opened the season against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Chicago ended up floundering to a 124-104 loss to the Thunder in which nine different Bulls players saw at least 16 minutes of action. None of those nine players were Dosunmu, though.
Dosunmu finished the game with nine minutes, as he was the 10th man off the bench. He was productive in this nine-minute night, as Dosunmu finished with eight points, one assist, and one steal. He also had the best box plus-minus of +3 on the night.
After Ayo Dosunmu sees little playing time, the Chicago Bulls seem to be at a crossroads one game into the season
I think we can all agree that Dosunmu is a productive player who needs to see the floor. He isn’t going to be your No. 1 option in a starting rotation, but he can be a solid role player who can get 15-20 minutes a night.
There is more going on with the Chicago Bulls than what meets the eye, though. After the loss to the Thunder, it was reported by multiple outlets that the team had a players-only meeting.
Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan walked into the locker room after tonight’s game and the players were having “heated conversations” and Billy asked the players if they need space to continue to talk and they said yes so Billy walked out.
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) October 26, 2023
Donovan said the conversations…
In the meeting, Daniel Greenberg reported that head coach Billy Donovan walked into the locker room and the team was having heated conversations.
To be a fly on the wall in that locker room. It is a little surprising that a players-only meeting is taking place after the first game of the season. To me, that means there were already underlying issues with the team. It will be interesting to see where the Bulls go from here.