Josh Giddey signed a four-year, $100 million contract to stay with the Chicago Bulls, locking him in as the team's franchise PG for the near future. While Giddey and the rest of the starting lineup can be projected right now, the immediate backups aren't as crystal clear.
Tre Jones--part of the midseason, multi-team, Zach LaVine trade--was great as the Bulls primary backup PG in 2025, and across his nine spot starts he put up numbers comparable to an average starting PG (14.9 points, 7.1 assists, and 1.2 steals per game). But that was over a stretch of the season that included a season-ending injury to Ayo Dosunmu, and a decrease in minutes for Patrick Williams.
With the Bulls near full-strength as we approach the start of the NBA regular season, is it clear cut that Jones will step back into his late season role as the sixth man and primary backup to Giddey?
Let's start with the man whose injury likely paved the way for Jones to play 26+ minutes per game post All-Star break, Ayo Dosunmu. Over 46 games, Dosunmu averaged a career best 12.3 points and 4.5 assists. While the numbers weren't extremely impressive, he also saw an increase in his free throw attempt rate and 3-point attempt rate. While he was more aggressive from deep, the accuracy fell to the second-worst 3-point percentage of his career at 32.8%. Dosunmu took less 3-pointers from the corners, a likely factor in his poor shooting from deep.
In 2025, Dosunmu shot 35.1% on corner 3-point FGs. Conversely, he increased his FGAs in the 0-3 feet range. Dosunmu is excellent at using his speed to blow past defenders in transition. Focusing more on being a downhill threat is great, but he simply needs that 3-point shot to fall to maximize his ability to drive, causing hard closeouts that open up more driving opportunities in half-court situations.
While he came into the league as PG, the lanky Dosunmu has soaked up most his playing time for Billy Donovan on the wing. The Bulls added Kevin Huerter last season, and Isaac Okoro and Noa Essengue this year, making playing time on the wing tougher to guarantee for anyone on the roster. Still, considering that he is on an expiring contract, Dosunmu will have a role in the rotation, and adding more minutes for him at backup PG to balance the offense-heavy lineups is a possibility.
Jevon Carter was a good soldier last season, accepting a depth spot in the rotation, and generally being a supportive teammate despite settling into a role that he likely didn't imagine when he originally signed with the Bulls in 2023. Carter can still get after it on defense, but the floor spacing he was expected to provide just hasn't been there.
Carter shot 42.1% from 3-point range in his last full season with the Milwaukee Bucks before knocking down only 33% of his 3-point FGAs over his two seasons with the Bulls. It's possible that the offensive gravity of Giannis Antetokounmpo was a major factor in Carter's accuracy from deep. This would explain why it just hasn't worked out in Chicago so far in terms of a steady 15 minute per game role. Things could always change, but I project him as outside of the rotation again. This brings us back to Tre Jones.
Jones is probably a lock for backup PG and to be honest, overall Bulls sixth man, based off of his head coach. Donovan is a former PG himself, and pushing the pace, good screen navigation on defense, and limiting turnovers are things that will endear you quickly to the Hall of Fame head coach. Jones averaged 4.9 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.8 turnovers per game during his time with the Bulls last season. The ability to run the offense efficiently, and limit turnovers while creating extra possessions with his propensity for steals, is the stuff that coaches dream of in terms of no-frills floor generals.
As previously discussed, Dosunmu will always play hard but his efficiency can vary greatly from year to year. Coby White--who will start at SG--may see time at PG in lineups where Giddey hits the bench, but it's unlikely we see White in a major table-setter role considering just how much the Bulls will needs his scoring sans Zach LaVine. Over the second half of last season White showed he could play the lead scorer role well, so I would expect we see even more off-ball Coby this season. Tre Jones' strong play in Chicago in 2025, combined with the Bulls re-signing him to a new three-year, $24 million contract, signals to me that he is locked into role that will see him as the surefire backup PG and potentially, the first man off the bench.
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