On Monday afternoon, the Chicago Bulls announced that rookie guard Devon Dotson will rejoin the big league roster.
Devon Dotson has been recalled from the Canton Charge and will return from G-League action in Orlando. pic.twitter.com/GY5RIaoZKI
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) March 1, 2021
With the Bulls organization choosing not to send their Windy City affiliate into the Orlando bubble, Dotson joined the Cleveland Cavaliers Canton Charge for his 10 games in the G-League. He averaged 13 points, 5.6 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game on a 46.7 percent clip from the field (oh, and he looked pretty good doing it).
One of the Bulls two-way contracts, the motive to send Dotson away for a couple of weeks was clear. The organization can only allow him to be on the active pro roster for only 50 games, so it makes sense to space out his time in Chicago with the G-League’s short regular season (each team plays 15 games before playoffs). The 21-year-old was also not going to get much playing time with the likes of Coby White, Tomas Satoransky, and Ryan Arcidiacono ahead of him in the rotation to start the season anyway.
The question now, however, is whether or not calling Dotson back to the NBA is just a formality or signs of something more. He flashed a lot of the skills that made him an attractive prospect over his several weeks in Orlando, having one 7-assist performance and one 21-point performance just last week. With a clear and persistent need for a primary facilitator, one has to wonder if the organization is at all interested in giving Dotson some run sooner than later. Of course, he isn’t exactly the “truest” of point guards, himself, but he does possess the kind of fast, two-way play that can mesh nicely with Billy Donovan’s system.
Keep it going @d_dotson1 💪
🏀 21 Points | 2 Assists | 3 Steals 🏀 pic.twitter.com/kfXyVwUi4V
— Windy City Bulls (@windycitybulls) February 28, 2021
We shouldn’t expect Dotson to all of sudden get a lot of playing time, but the fact that he is back in Chicago certainly means it’s a possibility.