Bulls’ Kris Dunn May Not Return This Season

FEBRUARY 19: The Bulls have issued a formal update on Dunn, announcing that he’ll continue his current rehab program for four-to-six weeks before “progressing to functional training.”

There are only eight weeks left in the regular season, so this update from the club certainly doesn’t contradict Johnson’s report (detailed below) that Dunn may not return this season.

FEBRUARY 17: The Bulls announced on February 4 that Kris Dunn‘s right MCL sprain would be re-evaluated in two weeks, which means an update from the team should be right around the corner. According to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, there’s concern that the next update on Dunn won’t be a positive one.

Sources tell Johnson there’s a “growing belief” that Dunn is at risk of missing the rest of the 2019/20 season. As Johnson notes, a similar injury sidelined the fourth-year guard for 23 games last season. Dunn has missed four games so far and Chicago has just 27 contests remaining on its regular season schedule.

If Dunn can’t make it back to the court this spring, it would be a disappointing end to the season for the former fifth overall pick, who will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer. Dunn’s scoring and passing numbers (7.3 PPG, 3.4 APG) have dipped in 2019/20, but he has emerged as the Bulls’ go-to perimeter defender. His rate of 2.9 steals per 36 minutes leads the NBA.

Dunn is also just six starts away from meeting the starter criteria, which we explained in detail earlier today. If he doesn’t make six more starts, the 25-year-old will be eligible for a qualifying offer worth $4,642,800 instead of $7,091,457.

We’ll have to wait for official word from the Bulls on Dunn’s status, but at the very least, it doesn’t sound like his return is at all imminent.

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