(670 The Score) The Bulls have extended a qualifying offer to wing Denzel Valentine but don’t plan to do so for point guard Kris Dunn, according to multiple reports Monday afternoon.
The decisions mean that Valentine can become a restricted free agent, while Dunn will be an unrestricted free agent who's likely bound for elsewhere. Valentine’s qualifying offer is worth just shy of $4.7 million. Dunn’s would’ve been worth just less than $7.1 million.
Valentine, who turned 27 on Monday, averaged 6.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 36 games, including five starts, for the Bulls last season. Chicago selected him at No. 14 overall in the 2016 draft. He’s a career 36.6% 3-point shooter. Valentine missed the entire 2018-'19 season after having reconstructive surgery on his ankle.
Valentine could accept the one-year qualifying offer. If he doesn't, he'll enter restricted free agency, where the Bulls would have the right to match any offer sheet that Valentine signs with another team. Formal negotiations in free agency can begin Friday.
Dunn, 26, joined the Bulls as part of the draft night deal that sent All-Star wing Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves in 2017. The Bulls’ hope was that he would become their point guard of the future, but that vision never panned out as Dunn struggled on the offensive end. Dunn shot 43.1% from the field and 31.0% from 3-point range in his three seasons in Chicago. He has always been a strong defender.
Darnell Mayberry of the Athletic first reported the news of Valentine receiving a qualifying offer. K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago first reported that the Bulls don’t plan to extend a qualifying offer to Dunn.
The Bulls also won't extend a qualifying offer to guard Shaq Harrison, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported, which will make him an unrestricted free agent. Harrison averaged 4.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.8 steals in 11.3 minutes in 43 games, including 10 starts, last season.