The Bulls have an issue, however it’s one for which every coach covertly wants — a lot of capable guards and inadequate minutes to walk around.

In what’s forming up to be among the more appealing subplots of their season, the Bulls get in camp with a congested backcourt that includes Coby White, Zach LaVine, Josh Giddey, and Ayo Dosunmu, all anticipating routine functions. Toss in Lonzo Ball, Dalen Terry, Jevon Carter, and Chris Duarte, and you have the makings of a positional logjam.

Coach Billy Donovan knows the competitors and isn’t mincing words about the obstacle of spreading out minutes uniformly.

“It’s going to be tough. These guys are all highly competitive, worked hard this offseason, but some of them just won’t get the chance,” Donovan stated, by means of Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “We’ve got a lot of talent, but not enough minutes.”

What makes complex things much more are injuries to crucial gamers like Giddey and Ball, though their ultimate returns will just make the rotation choices that much harder. Donovan hinted that a three-guard lineup remains in the cards, and we got a glance of that throughout the Bulls’ preseason opener versus Cleveland. White, LaVine, and Giddey remained in the beginning lineup, signed up with by Patrick Williams and Nikola Vucevic in the frontcourt. It’s an appearance Donovan appears to prefer heading into the routine season.

But no matter how you slice it, somebody will be the odd man out. “Somebody’s going to be sitting. We can’t play them all,” Donovan confessed, understanding that difficult choices lie ahead.

The huge concern now: Who gets left? Donovan is leaning on protective flexibility to assist figure that out. Dosunmu, who has actually become a strong boundary protector, might take a constant function depending upon matches.

“Ayo’s really good defensively, so it’s about finding who pairs best with him,” Donovan stated. 

So as the Bulls inch closer to the routine season, something is specific: the fight for minutes in the backcourt is warming up, and not everybody will get a seat at the table. For now, Donovan’s task is to find out how to handle a backcourt overruning with capability — which’s no simple job.