Bulls provide update on Kris Dunn’s timetable following MCL injury

Another Kris Dunn injury update came down the pipe Tuesday morning.

In it, the Bulls revealed that an MRI confirmed the initial diagnosis of a sprained MCL in Dunn's right knee, which he suffered just seconds into the Bulls' 133-118 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Feb. 1.

Per the Bulls, Dunn will undergo a period of immobilization and physical therapy, then be re-evaluated in two weeks.

As ESPN's Bobby Marks notes, the injury came with Dunn just six starts away from meeting starter criteria for the 2019-20 season. Dunn is set to hit restricted free agency this summer, and meeting starter criteria would bump his qualifying offer from $4.6 million to $7.1 million, per Marks.

Important to note is that said qualifying offer would only really come into play if Dunn can't find a deal he likes on the open market, or if he isn't able to reach a direct extension agreement with the Bulls, this offseason. In either of those cases, Dunn would have the option to sign the one-year qualifying offer and enter unrestricted free agency after the 2020-21 season.

And, of course, those above considerations assume the Bulls will in fact extend Dunn a qualifying offer to begin with. But that at least feels like a lock — even if the exact amount of long-term money Dunn will be able to garner isn't clear. Dunn has largely been a bright spot this season, and extending that qualifying offer ensures the Bulls would be able to match any offer sheet he might sign elsewhere.

In October 2018, Dunn suffered a moderate MCL sprain in his left knee, which cost him 24 games at the beginning of last season. Exactly how much time this injury costs him remains to be seen, but it will be interesting to see how the Bulls and Dunn navigate his recovery with those financial implications in mind.