New Minnesota Timberwolves starting shooting guard Ayo Dosunmu is not ruling out a return to his former team, the Chicago Bulls, in free agency.
Dosunmu was the postseason hero in Game 4 of the Timberwolves vs. Denver Nuggets playoff series, as he came off the bench and scored 43 points in 42 minutes following a knee injury to Wolves superstar Anthony Edwards. With Edwards now out with the injury for several weeks, Dosunmu will become the new starting shooting guard for the Wolves, as the team looks to finish off the Nuggets in five games.
With Dosunmu fitting in so well in his new digs, Wolves fans no doubt hope that he will return to Minnesota when he becomes a free agent this offseason. However, Dosunmu isn’t ruling out a return with this former team, the Bulls. He spent the first 4.5 years of his NBA career after being drafted in the second round in 2021, before being traded to Minnesota at this year’s NBA trade deadline for a package of draft picks and prospects.
Ayo Dosunmu Would Consider a Return to the Chicago Bulls
Speaking to the Chicago Sun-Times the day before he exploded for 43 points off the bench for the Timberwolves, Dosunmu said he will consider a return to Chicago in free agency, though he admitted he has loved his time in Minnesota so far.
“Everything is on the table when you’re a free agent. That’s the main thing about being a free agent — you listen. You have conversations with whoever is interested. I’ll sit down with my family, and you have those conversations about where the next duration of my career will be, but Minnesota has shown me love here. I love the love I’ve been getting from the coaching staff, the fans, the players. So of course Minnesota will have the first dibs to do right and make me feel at home where I won’t even have to go out and entertain (other offers). This is what free agency is all about, sitting down and talking to teams, so I wouldn’t rule out no team. But that’s down the road.”
It is worth noting that Dosunmu was born in Chicago, went to high school in Chicago, and went to college at Illinois, so the Bulls are truly his hometown team and hold a special place in his heart. But it is a business, and Dosunmu has to do what is best for him and his family.
“You’re drafted somewhere, you help a player develop, help a player take it to another step, and that’s why I love Chicago so much, because I was a second-round pick, fought my way into the rotation, got better each and every year, and that was my home,” Dosunmu said of the “Windy City.”
Timberwolves Have Ayo Dosunmu’s Bird Rights
One of the benefits of acquiring Dosunmu at the trade deadline was that Minnesota also acquired the player’s Bird Rights, which will allow the team to exceed the salary cap to re-sign him. That gives the Timberwolves a potential leg up in free agency if they really want to bring him back next season. Given that he looks like the perfect fit with his new team, they will likely try to re-sign him and use his Bird Rights to go over the cap to do so.
In his first five seasons in the NBA, Dosunmu has made $23,488,776 overall, a sum that looks massive to the average Joe, but which is really not that much for a capable contributor in the NBA. Given that Dosunmu is only 26 years old, he has time on his side, and a team would likely have no problem offering him multiple years in free agency in the $15 milllion to $20 million range. The Timberwolves will seemingly get the first crack at signing him, but the Bulls will get a shot, too, as will every other team in the league that has cap room and that wants him badly enough.
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