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Ayo Dosunmu, Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls have somewhat of a roster crunch on the horizon. While the front office will undoubtedly be focused on signing Josh Giddey to a contract extension this summer, they must also make decisions on the futures of Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu.

Both White and Dosunmu are entering the final year of their respective deals. It wouldn’t be financially prudent for Chicago to offer contract extensions to both guards. During a recent discussion on the “Chicago Lead,” K.C. Johnson shared his thoughts on the Bulls upcoming roster decisions.

“From my seat they’ve got to try to look to trade either Ayo [Dosunmu] or Coby [White],” Johnson said. “I think it will be very hard to re-sign both of them after next year when they both hit unrestricted free agency. You’ve got to get out in front of things like that…And, you’ve got to make these hard decisions, because you’re not going to be re-signing Josh Giddey this summer, and Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White after next summer. I just don’t see that.”

White has arguably been the Bulls’ best player in recent years. However, Dosunmu has some untapped potential that could interest the coaching staff moving forward. Nevertheless, a decision must be made in the coming months. Otherwise, the Bulls risk losing one of the guards for nothing next summer.

Bulls Also Have a Lonzo Ball Decision to Make

Chicago gave Lonzo Ball a two-year $20 million contract extension last season. The second year is a team option. However, the Bulls could look to flip Ball in a potential trade, should there be enough interest in his services.

The Athletic’s Jovan Buha recently broached the idea of the Los Angeles Lakers bringing Ball back to his hometown. His comments came via his “Buha’s Block” podcast, and were in response to a question regarding a potential Ball return to Los Angeles.

“I do, I think they would be,” Buha said. “It’s just a matter of what his price is and you have to factor in his health and the history there… you can’t even pencil him in for 60 games.”

Ball played in 35 games this past season. He averaged 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists, shooting 36.6% from the field and 34.4% from deep.

Mavericks Could Also Show Interest in Ball

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Ball could emerge as a “reasonable” trade target for the Dallas Mavericks.

“League sources say Dallas is expected to at least explore whether there are any feasible trade pathways to Boston’s Jrue Holiday — complicated as that would likely be given the three years and $104 million still left on Holiday’s contract — while also maintaining an interest in a far more reasonable trade target as we’ve discussed on the DLLS Mavs podcast: Lonzo Ball,” Stein reported.

Regardless of whether Chicago trades Ball, it will still need to make a decision regarding White and Dosunmu. Nevertheless, flipping players for future assets is a key part of being a rebuilding roster. As such, it will be interesting to see what happens with Ball, White and Dosunmu over the next 12 months. The Bulls certainly have a lot to think about.

Adam Taylor is a basketball reporter covering the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns for Heavy. He has also written for CelticsBlog, USA Today, Yardbarker and FanSided. Adam has a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from Open University. More about Adam Taylor