NEWSLETTER
As the Chicago Bulls contemplate a 9-14 start to the season, a line is starting to form outside the Advocate Center.
Trade talk is all the rage to begin the season. The departure of Zach LaVine feels inevitable after reports surfaced that he is open to a change of scenery. Meanwhile, the longer the front office goes without reaching a contract extension with DeMar DeRozan, the more likely it becomes that he could end up elsewhere come February. For an update on his specific situation, read our recent post here.
The majority of those waiting in line, however, may have zero interest in either of Chicago’s All-Star talents. Instead, the real draw might very well be Alex Caruso.
Not only has the 29-year-old continued to perform like an All-Defensive First Team player, but he has drained shots from downtown like never before. Caruso is shooting an eye-popping 46.4 percent from long range on a career-high 3.4 attempts per game. Combine this with his career-high in offensive rebounds per game, as well as a constant flow of energy that would even make Taz the Tasmanian Devil look sluggish, and Caruso has performed like the epitome of a winning role player.
The guard is also making just $9.4 million this season and is on a partially guaranteed $9.9 million deal next season. In other words, he is operating under one of the most valuable contracts in the NBA – one that nearly any team in the NBA can easily add to their books.
Long-time NBA Insider Marc Stein has already stated that a list of double-digit teams would likely have interest in Caruso if he were to become available. Now, The Athletic’s Shams Charania has reiterated as much, and he also shared how the Chicago Bulls have responded to those interested parties.
“A bevy of teams has been expressing interest in trading for Bulls utility star Alex Caruso, league sources say, but the franchise has shut down those calls. Caruso, whose $9.9 million deal for next season is partially guaranteed, is averaging 9.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 20 games this season.”
Read Shams Charania’s full NBA intel piece here.
Let me be very clear: The last thing the Chicago Bulls should do is not pick up the phone. Once you begin a season 9-14 with the same veteran core from the previous two seasons – which also just finished 40-42, might I add – you have to consider EVERY option. More specifically, you have to consider pressing the reset button. And this is especially true when your 28-year-old max player is already on the trade block!
So, yeah, I can’t stand hearing that the front office has “shut down” phone calls on Caruso. The only explanation I’d find acceptable for not engaging in conversation is that it’s early. While I still think it can’t hurt to hear a team out, it’s reasonable to think most interested teams would become more desperate as the trade deadline looms. That’s when a real high-stakes bidding war could begin.
Still, if the Bulls are hanging up the phone now, how can we be sure that will change over the next two months? We know – and could already safely assume – thanks to NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson that this front office loves them some Caruso. He restated in a recent mailbag that the Bulls are “hesitant” to move the defensive menace, and he also stressed that Caruso projects the exact kind of culture they want to implement.
“But Caruso is arguably this regime’s greatest success story and he is the perfect embodiment of the culture the franchise wants to project. Trading him would be painful for this management team; I can assure you that.”
I’ll be the first to agree that trading Caruso would sting. He’s the kind of player that any organization would love to have. But, unfortunately, that doesn’t mean he’s the kind of player that makes sense for every organization.
Basketball-Reference gives the Chicago Bulls a 1.2 percent chance to make the playoffs (as of publishing). Simply put, Alex Caruso isn’t built for a team with those kinds of expectations. He is the kind of player who deserves to be in a winning environment, which is why many teams in that situation are presumably willing to strike a deal. If the Chicago Bulls are not willing to capitalize on that opportunity, they’re only wasting what they have.
