There was very little hesitation in Coby White’s voice last week when he was asked over a Zoom call about the number of Bulls players in town for the voluntary mini-camp.
“Everybody’s here,’’ White said. “The whole team, everybody’s pretty much here.’’
As the Bulls found out, however, that didn’t mean everybody was participating.
A source confirmed on Monday that Dunn will not participate in the three-week camp, as the point guard is protecting himself from injury with free agency a real possibility this offseason.
Dunn, who was acquired from Minnesota back in 2017 in the Jimmy Butler trade, could be extended a qualifying offer from the new front office at $7.1 million [based on cap projections before the shutdown], allowing them to match any offers Dunn would receive on the free-agent market.
If new executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas chooses to not extend Dunn he would become an unrestricted free agent.
Dunn is also eligible for a multi-year deal, but that would seem unlikely with the free agent class of 2021 expected to be historic in star power.
While Dunn was in and out of the Advocate Center this summer to rehab his injured knee, the players were all asked to begin gathering last week for one-person drills. Full five-on-five scrimmages were scheduled to begin on Wednesday and go all the way through next week.
They will do so without Dunn.
