Kris Dunn’s season may have ended on January 31st
According to NBC Sports Chicago, there is growing speculation that Kris Dunn will not return to the court this season after suffering an MCL sprain in his right knee.
The Bulls haven’t officially updated Dunn’s status since Feb. 4 when they said the guard’s sprained right MCL would be re-examined in two weeks. But sources said there’s growing belief that Dunn will miss the remainder of the season with the injury, which occurred when Thaddeus Young took a charge and inadvertently crashed into Dunn’s knee on the first possession of a Jan. 31 road game at the Nets.
We probably shouldn’t be shocked by this news.
As we’ve discussed, when Dunn suffered a similar injury last season, he missed a total of 23 games. The Bulls have 27 games remaining this season, and while Dunn’s already missed the last four before the All-Star break, it’s hard to say it would be worth it to push him back by season’s end.
Not only do the Bulls playoffs aspirations appear to be down the drain, but Dunn is also set to be a restricted free agent this summer. Staying sidelined for the remainder of the season may be in his best interest, especially considering he pretty much proved his worth as a defensive specialist over the first 51 games of the year, but it’s not exactly ideal for the Bulls, who’ll have a tough decision to make in a few months. Further complicating matters – on both sides – is that Dunn was starting to blossom on the offensive end of the court when he went down. Where does that leave his value come the offseason? It’s tricky and it might require a bit of a leap of faith on both sides, depending on how other teams view him in the interim.
Hopefully, with the Bulls to start-up practice again tomorrow with a game on Thursday, we’ll get a more exact update on Dunn’s status. For now, it’s not looking great, and you have to wonder, has he played his last game in a Bulls uniform?