Ayo Dosunmu doesn’t have the minutes of a Scottie Barnes, the scoring of a Cade Cunningham or the interior defensive impact of an Evan Mobley, but try telling his head coach that the second-round pick from Illinois is not one of the top rookies in this year’s class.
“I think he’s played as good as any rookie in this league,” the Bulls’ Billy Donovan said on Friday. “I’m not going to get into the talent or who’s better, who is more talented, who is having a better year, but from what I’ve seen I think we would all have to agree that if the draft took place today, he’s undoubtedly a first-round draft pick minimum.
“So we feel really fortunate that we could end up at that point and time selecting where we did to get a player like him, and I think he’s done an amazing job really all year long, but certainly with some of the guys we’ve had out with what he’s had to do absorbing minutes.”
Donovan would also like to see Dosunmu get a chance to take part in the All-Star Weekend’s Rising Stars Game, even with the new format.
Instead of Team World vs. Team USA, there will now be a pool of 12 NBA rookies, 12 NBA sophomores and four NBA G-League Ignite players, and the group will be broken into four teams to play a mini tournament.
Donovan is hoping that Dosunmu’s value as a defender, as well as his versatility to play either guard spot opens some eyes when it comes time to pick the rookie group for that game, but either way continued to be thrilled to have the former Morgan Park High School standout on his roster.
“A lot of times second-round draft picks don’t automatically play,” Donovan said. “Now I think two things: One, I think Ayo has really earned his way, so he’s on the floor because he’s earned it, and then obviously we’ve had Covid and different issues we’ve had to deal with and he’s stepped up, but I think you could probably tell right from the beginning people had an unbelievable amount of respect for him, even going back to training camp before we ever played a game.”
Dosunmu remained in the starting lineup for Lonzo Ball, and will likely continue to do so with Ball undergoing knee surgery Friday morning, and in that six-to-eight week window for a return.
“I think [Dosunmu] has done a great job for us and he deserves a lot of credit,” Donovan added. “And certainly consideration for that All-Star Game, that rookie/sophomore game.”
Captain speaking
By now the Zach LaVine video of the guard taking control of the team flight’s intercom system to announce that DeMar DeRozan had been named an All-Star starter has been seen by many.
Donovan loved the moment.
“It was great,” Donovan said. “[LaVine] flipped on the lights. I think it speaks to the bond and chemistry that those two guys have with one another. I’m personally really happy for DeMar. He has played incredibly well for us the entire year. Certainly provided great leadership and great play on the court. I think people got a chance to see his commitment to his teammates with what he did for Ayo and going to his jersey retirement [at Illinois]. It also speaks to Zach that he was just as happy for DeMar as well, which was great to see on the plane.”
Minute man
Javonte Green remained on a minutes limit, recently returning from a groin injury this last week, according to Donovan.
It was 23-25 minutes the first two games, and was bumped up to the 24-26 range against the Spurs. Donovan said that the plan is to move the minutes up “incrementally.”