Chicago Bulls forward Mike Dunleavy Jr. is expected to miss eight to 10 weeks after having a lower back microdiscectomy procedure Friday, the team announced.
Dunleavy, who turns 35 in September, experienced some occasional back discomfort over the summer, and it got progressively worse, the Bulls said in a statement.
Dunleavy signed a three-year, $14 million contract with Chicago in July after drawing some interest from the Cleveland Cavaliers. With the Bulls last season, he averaged 9.4 points in 63 games, all starts, and shot 41 percent from 3-point range. In the playoffs, he averaged 10.9 points and shot 48 percent from 3-point range.
Dunleavy missed 19 games last season because of a bruised right foot/ankle. The Bulls went 9-10 without him.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
