The Chicago Bulls took care of perhaps their biggest priority before the NBA’s free agency period even began, as the team came to terms on a contract extension with starting center Nikola Vucevic. With that out of the way and all indications being that the Bulls want to run it back with Vucevic, DeMar DeRozan, and Zach Lavine, the front office could move on to other matters, like the restricted free agency of Ayo Dosunmu.
The No. 38 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft out of the University of Illinois, Dosunmu made his way into the team’s rotation — and occasionally its starting lineup — during his first year in the league and had a very similar role during his sophomore campaign. Now, Dosunmu is a restricted free agent, and Chicago needs to make a decision about whether or not he’ll continue to be in its long-term plans.
While it took a few weeks to get something done, Dosunmu is indeed headed back to Chicago. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Dosunmu will rejoin the Bulls on a three-year contract worth $21 million.
Restricted free agent G Ayo Dosunmu has agreed on a three-year, $21 million deal to stay with the Chicago Bulls, agent Mike Lindeman of @excelbasketball tells ESPN. pic.twitter.com/whY8tifPLA
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 21, 2023
Dosunmu appeared in 80 games for the Bulls during his second season in the NBA, with 51 of them coming as a member of the team’s starting lineup. The 2021-22 All Rookie Second-Team selection averaged 8.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 26.2 minutes per game last year while shooting 49.3 percent from the field and 31.2 percent from behind the three-point line.