Devon Dotson returning to Chicago Bulls on two-way contract
By SCOTT CHASEN
Devon Dotson will be returning to the Chicago Bulls in 2021-22. Citing unnamed sources, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that Dotson, who was on a two-way deal with Chicago last year, “has signed his qualifying offer with the Bulls.”
“Dotson will be on a two-way contract,” Charania said. (A two-way contract means a player will be splitting time between the G League and NBA levels.)
The former KU basketball star appeared in 11 games for the Bulls during his rookie NBA season, averaging just 4.5 minutes per game. Dotson scored 23 total points (2.1 per game), adding seven assists, five rebounds and four steals in 50 minutes of action.
Dotson played 10 minutes in his NBA debut, a 30-point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. In that game, he scored four points with one rebound. He shot 2 for 4 from the field.
After not logging more than four minutes in any contest over the next four months, Dotson closed out his season with a career-best 21 minutes in a win over the Bucks — albeit with the Bucks sitting their top-seven players.
In that game, Dotson went for 11 points (5-for-10 shooting), four assists, two rebounds and a steal. He didn’t have a turnover and committed two fouls in his 21 minutes. In fact, he went the entire season without committing a turnover.
Dotson also was credited as playing in 10 games at the G League level last year. His averages, per the NBA G League site, were 13.0 points (46.7 FG%, 27.3 3PT%), 5.6 assists and 3.8 rebounds. He averaged 1.9 turnovers and 1.4 steals in 31.4 minutes per contest.
While Dotson has yet to have big success at the NBA level, he was, of course, a force in two seasons with the Jayhawks. A full-time starter at point guard from the time he stepped on campus, Dotson emerged as one of the top lead guards in the nation as a sophomore, averaging 18.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. He also posted 2.1 steals per contest, earning praise for his effort on the defensive end from the Kansas coaching staff.
Dotson helped lead a KU team that finished the regular season at 28-3 and was ranked No. 1 in the country before the COVID-19 pandemic led to the Big 12 Tournament and NCAA Tournament being called off. Dotson started 30 of 31 games that season, missing one contest after a hip injury sustained in a loss to Baylor.
A first-team All-Big 12 honoree, Dotson earned second-team All-America honors. He went undrafted out of college before signing with the Bulls on a two-way deal for 2020-21.
After Dotson went undrafted, KU coach Bill Self said he still believed Dotson had the chance to make it in the NBA.
“I know what the family’s feeling right now,” Self said at the time. “He’s going to be fine. He’s going to be fine. But he’s going to have to keep grinding. I certainly thought he played a way that would always give him a chance because of his speed, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Sometimes guys are looking for a little bit of something different.”