It was Bulls coach Billy Donovan’s version of posting a ‘‘Help Wanted’’’ sign.
When Donovan entered training camp a few weeks ago, he let his players know the Bulls needed offensive rebounders — players willing to throw their bodies into the fray of the paint and willing to claw and scratch for that extra offensive possession.
Guard Ayo Dosunmu’s reaction? Sign me up.
Whether it’s that he realizes minutes will be tough to come by this season or simply his Chicago toughness, Dosunmu is all-in on helping turn around a team that ranked 28th in the NBA in offensive rebounds per game last season (8.5).
‘‘Go guys’’ is what Donovan has been calling this special unit, and Dosunmu has embraced that.
‘‘You either have the chance to be a ‘get back’ guy, get back on the shot, or a ‘go guy’ and crash offensive rebounds,’’ Dosunmu said. ‘‘I just think that being a ‘go guy’ will give us the chance to have more opportunities in offensive rebounds. I have a knack to go get the ball.’’
The Nuggets found that out in the Bulls’ preseason victory in double-overtime Thursday. The 6-5 Dosunmu grabbed three of the Bulls’ 26 offensive rebounds in the game, leading all their guards.
No wonder Donovan was all smiles when discussing the former Morgan Park and Illinois standout.
‘‘My man Ayo, right?’’ Donovan said. ‘‘We talked about ‘go guys’ going. Did he go [Thursday] or what? He wanted to be a ‘go guy,’ and he went out there. I give him a lot of credit. He generated a lot of extra possessions for us.
‘‘It’s easy to offensive-rebound when teams are in rotation. When the defense is set and you get caught playing in the mid-range, it’s generally man-on-man and really hard to rebound from those spots. So I give Ayo a lot of credit. He took a lot of ownership in being a guy that wanted to go to the glass. We need guys to have that kind of mentality.’’
Dosunmu was well aware of that, especially in terms of how that can help him earn playing time.
It’s not as though executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has knocked it out of the park with his last three draft picks.
Dosunmu was a solid get in the second round in 2021, but 2022 first-round pick Dalen Terry (18th overall) and 2023 second-round pick Julian Phillips (35th overall) will struggle to find minutes in the Bulls’ rotation.
Would it help if they flashed ‘‘go guy’’ potential? Definitely. And it’s much better than being a ‘‘no guy’’ — as in no playing time.
‘‘I don’t like necessarily passing judgment on what will happen when the season starts because a lot of people felt that Ayo wouldn’t have gotten a lot of playing time his rookie year,’’ Donovan said of Terry and Phillips finding time in the rotation. ‘‘Then with the injuries to Alex [Caruso] and Lonzo [Ball], a huge hole opened up. I think it’s the responsibility of all of us to keep those guys working and keep them ready, help them get better.
‘‘When a guy doesn’t really have that avenue where he’s in the rotation, the player needs to have a plan that’s in front of him to where he can get better. Then there needs to be a commitment by the player to try and get better, whether that’s in practice with us, Windy City [G League] games, all those things.’’
Or, in Dosunmu’s case, a willingness to do the dirty work.
‘‘I know what kind of player I am, so I’m going to find my way on the court,’’ Dosunmu said. ‘‘Whatever it is to help the team win. Just doing my part.’’
