Free agency officially opened up two and a half hours ago and the Bulls have already added two guards. After struggling last season at the point guard position the Bulls front office has wasted no time improving. Earlier the team acquired point guard Lonzo Ball in a sign and trade. The team has now added Lakers point guard Alex Caruso.
Free agent guard Alex Caruso has agreed to a four-year, $37M deal with the Chicago Bulls, his agent Greg Lawrence of @Wasserman tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 3, 2021
This gives the Bulls some much-needed depth at the point guard position. They now have a new starting point guard in Ball and a backup in Caruso. The Bulls did have to shell out some money to Caruso to get him here. Caruso is entering his fifth year in the league and he will do that with the Chicago Bulls.
Caruso brings much-needed defense
This team has lacked one thing in particular, defense. Caruso is going to bring just that to the Bulls. While Caruso isn’t going to shoot the lights out and put up 20 he is going to lock down defensively. He matches up well on the perimeter and can hold his own defensively. The Bulls were pretty bad defensively last season and the addition of Caruso will help especially with the second unit. Having a guy come off the bench who can play perimeter defense and hold his own offensively is hard to come by. The Bulls decided Caruso was the right fit and they used their mid-level extension on him. This ties him to the Bulls for four years. While Caruso isn’t showstopping on offense he has been improving and last season he saw a big jump in one category in particular.
His offense is a work in progress
Caruso has been improving offensively and last season he saw quite an uptick in his three-point shooting percentage.
Newest Chicago Bull Alex Caruso shot 40.1% from the three point line this past season.
Alex also received multiple votes for the NBA’s All-Defensive Second Team.
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) August 3, 2021
That was the second time in his career where he has averaged over 40% from three-point range. If you look at Caruso’s career his offense has been back and forth. Two seasons ago he averaged 9.2 points over 25 games so the offensive potential is there. This will be only his second team since entering the league and a change of scenery might be just what he needs. He also won’t be expected to carry any sort of load with the Bulls as this move will likely push guard Coby White to the shooting guard position. White will likely thrive in that role as he can just focus on his shooting. Either way, the addition of Caruso will benefit the Bull’s second unit in multiple ways.
The Bulls keep building
This front office has now made two additions to the team on the first night of free agency. These likely won’t be the only two moves the team makes. But these show just how serious the front office is about improving. The team’s biggest issue last season was point guard play. The front office brought in two new guards first thing to show how serious they are about addressing the issues this team had. It looks like Caruso was just too good for the front office to pass up on. He had something that can’t be taught.
AK said he coveted toughness. Caruso adds an element. https://t.co/DvDzXx3ooD
— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) August 3, 2021
While Caruso may not be the best player on the court he plays with toughness. In order to succeed in this league, you need to be tough. The Bulls front office knows this and brought in someone who can provide meaningful minutes with the second unit. This is likely just the beginning for the Bulls. Friday is when contracts can officially be signed so look for the Bulls to make some more deals ahead of that deadline.
