The Chicago Bulls inked former Los Angeles Laker, Alex Caruso, to a four-year $37 million deal.
The Bulls inked Caruso using an MLE, or mid-level exception, allowing the Bulls to obtain Caruso without going over the cap space provided to them.
This is important for two reasons.
First, the Bulls can still go after big-name free agents this offseason, like DeMar DeRozan, who they have been linked to in multiple sign-and-trade rumors with Lauri Markkanen.
Second, the Bulls can use their BAE, or bi-annual exception, to sign free agents and can use multiple minimum contracts to fill out the rest of their roster.
Can confirm the Alex Caruso signing that @wojespn first reported, which is the majority of the full MLE over 4 years.
Bulls still have BAE and minimums to round out roster up front.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) August 3, 2021
This deal seems confusing, considering the guard roster is full of freshly acquired talent like Lonzo Ball, newly drafted Ayo Donsunmu, and now Caruso.
However, it seems the Bulls have one goal in mind for which area of their team they want to improve most — defense.
Caruso is one of the most gifted defensive guards in the league. With multiple votes for second-team all-defense last season, Caruso held a 106 defensive rating and a 2.3 defensive box plus/minus.
AKME has its eyes set on improving the defense, which was a huge struggle for the Bulls last season. While they ended up 11th overall in points allowed per game, the defense was always a struggle for them.
Caruso is here for one reason and one reason only — defense. His offensive talents are pretty useless, considering he averages a career 5.9 points and takes just under five shots per game. Either way, Caruso’s new role will be boosting the Bulls’ perimeter defense, a much-needed area for the team.
The biggest takeaway from Caruso’s deal is that the Bulls are not done in free agency. The deal put the team in a bit of a hole for cap room to sign big men, but enough room to sign another big name while using Lauri Markkanen and Thaddeus Young as trade pieces to clear up cap room.
Currently, the Bulls have Nikola Vucevic, Thaddeus Young, and Markkanen as their big men. Markkanen and Young seem as good as gone in the trade market, and Daniel Theis has agreed to a four-year deal with the Houston Rockets.
The Bulls need to figure out how to wiggle cap room to fill the roster spots for their frontcourt. The backcourt is loaded with talent and money, but the frontcourt needs work. That will be the next task for AKME as free agency continues. Stay tuned, Chicago.