Caruso on recent free agency

[jordanwilliams6]

Man, AKME are like assassins.

People (and players, most importantly) are starting to get that reminder of what the United Center is like when the Bulls are good/exciting. Seeing that atmosphere and hearing these stories about the FO can only make Chicago more enticing as a destination.

I'm excited for what they can do for this team in the medium term. Obviously the Vuc & DDR moves were more short term for the next couple of years but the 2023 off season will be interesting. I'm looking at you Jokic. They're making the Bulls relevant again.

[sco]

Man, AKME are like assassins.

People (and players, most importantly) are starting to get that reminder of what the United Center is like when the Bulls are good/exciting. Seeing that atmosphere and hearing these stories about the FO can only make Chicago more enticing as a destination.

I will note that they got some flack here for not landing an "A list" star. The Caruso and DD acquisitions were both low-key big moves.

[Red8911]

At first I wasn’t thrilled about the Caruso signing mainly because they pretty much chose him over Theis but Carusos been great here and brought something that this team definitely needed. Glad AK targeted him and glad he chose Chicago.

[Red8911]

Man, AKME are like assassins.

People (and players, most importantly) are starting to get that reminder of what the United Center is like when the Bulls are good/exciting. Seeing that atmosphere and hearing these stories about the FO can only make Chicago more enticing as a destination.

I will note that they got some flack here for not landing an "A list" star. The Caruso and DD acquisitions were both low-key big moves.

Derozen wasn’t low key everyone talked about it but of course they started hating because apparently they didn’t think he would fit in. Definitely not low key though, Derozen has been a very good player for years now.

[FriedRise]

The full interview is pretty awesome btw. Talks a bit about Chicago, his approach to defense, the new look Bulls, etc.

Watch on YouTube

[sco]

The Chitown crowd needs to change MVP chant to DPOY!

[sco]

https://lakeshowlife.com/2021/11/09/alex-caruso-trolls-lebron-james-los-angeles-lakers-instagram/

Caruso and LeBron shared the court for 560.7 minutes in the 2019-2020 season. Of every single two-man lineup on the Lakers that season, Caruso and LeBron had the most net points per 100 possessions at +18.7. Just LeBron and Davis were +8.3.

It gets even better. That was actually the best two-man combination in the entire league that season (min. 500 minutes played). The second-best two-man combination was Giannis Antetokounmpo and Eric Bledsoe, who averaged +18.2 net points per 100 possessions.

[Michael Jackson]

Seems like good teams have a FO & HC on the same page, and they recruit players that suit a shared vision. Seemed preposterous to me that G&P started shunning Adams & Thibs’ suggestions… and also never seemed to consult Hoiberg (or equally likely that Fred just didn’t have enough NBA rapport and or instinct to actually have any good suggestions - maybe RoLo, Grant and Payne were his input).

Anyway, great scouting on Caruso. Great recruiting by AK and BD. I was saying since the Vuc trade that AKME needed to rehaul PG with not 1 but 2 higher caliber targets, and they did it… plus a 3rd… plus a pseudo point/wing in Demar.

It’s nice when the FO vastly exceeds your expectations of what’s possible in one stretch of moves.

Players aren't dumb. They want to go where they feel they can contribute, earn their next contract and do some winning. If you have a GM with a vision you can sell them on it as was the case here. It felt like early in Paxson's tenure, and maybe a bit when it was GarPax, that they had a vision (surrounding Rose with the defenders) and could sell guys on it but after the "three amigos" it was clear they were just winging it year to year. AKME has come in with a plan and executed it. The plan isn't perfect, few are, but so far it's been fruitful.

There are limitations to every plan, none can be perfect. 30 teams competing for the same thing. Would it have been nice to keep Theis? Yeah for sure but AC fit the “plan” better. There was thought behind it. Caruso ends up making a great career choice. Even though the MVP chants are cringeworthy, he came to a place he can be truly beloved. There actually is more space for him to shine here because there is not the LBJ, AD and Russ shadows following him everywhere. All these fans that are coming out of the woodwork that are talking to me now about the Bulls love Caruso. It’s great. I personally loved the choice over Theis because I was an AC fan. It’s nice to see it work out.

[Muzbar]

If we only had AKME in 2010...

I would have rather a more balanced lineup than getting all 3.

Something like:

D.Rose
W.Matthews
L.Deng
C.Bosh
J.Noah

And then fill out the bench

[kodo]

At first I wasn’t thrilled about the Caruso signing mainly because they pretty much chose him over Theis but Carusos been great here and brought something that this team definitely needed. Glad AK targeted him and glad he chose Chicago.

I was also very bummed about Theis, but I don't think it was a Caruso vs Theis, I think they chose Patrick Williams over Theis. If the plan was to always start Patrick at PF, it makes sense not to sign a backup for $36M.

[Michael Jackson]

At first I wasn’t thrilled about the Caruso signing mainly because they pretty much chose him over Theis but Carusos been great here and brought something that this team definitely needed. Glad AK targeted him and glad he chose Chicago.

I was also very bummed about Theis, but I don't think it was a Caruso vs Theis, I think they chose Patrick Williams over Theis. If the plan was to always start Patrick at PF, it makes sense not to sign a backup for $36M.

I think it is a little of column A and B. I do think they thought spending that money on Caruso was strategically better because Pat could play the PF in their eyes and Caruso was more bang for the buck for what they were doing. Maybe they did straight up chose pat over Caruso but it seems more like Pat/Caruso > Pat/Theis. I can’t disagree right now. Would I like both Theis and Thad? Yes for sure but choices had to be made and it looks like the right ones have been made so far.

[MrSparkle]

At first I wasn’t thrilled about the Caruso signing mainly because they pretty much chose him over Theis but Carusos been great here and brought something that this team definitely needed. Glad AK targeted him and glad he chose Chicago.

I was also very bummed about Theis, but I don't think it was a Caruso vs Theis, I think they chose Patrick Williams over Theis. If the plan was to always start Patrick at PF, it makes sense not to sign a backup for $36M.

IMO Theis was a tough decision (cause the guy checks all the right boxes), but they made the right choice letting him go. I don’t think Theis/Vuc worked at all for Billy’s vision of running fast. It would’ve clamped up the half-court with Lonzo and Demar. Also the post-deadline team just couldn’t seem to win games. Big and slow. It was cool they didn’t do a typical save-face GM move of doubling down on their expiring trade target, resigning him. Instead they explored better options. GarPax would’ve given Theis $50m and we all know it. They were suckers for lunch-and-pail big men.

I really don’t think we miss Theis all that much with Bradley and Alize. Of course Theis is better than the 2, but he’s a luxury roleplayer. Undersized C and oversized PF, serviceable but inconsistent shooter and no handles, he’s just not a lethal threat every night.

[ThisGuyFawkes]

I just found out that Caruso is an Aggie and my respect for him has dropped slightly. On a scale of 0-10, it was probably a 9.8 and now its a 9.6.

[BullChit]

The Chitown crowd needs to change MVP chant to DPOY!

I actually think it would be awesome if they chanted "D! FENCE" when he was at the free throw line.

[sco]

https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-anthony-davis-speaks-out-on-facing-alex-caruso-bulls/

[dougthonus]

Read on Twitter

[dougthonus]

I don't blame the Lakers for letting Caruso go if they didn't want to pay the tax on him.

However, it's pretty hilarious that they would think that him saving the Lakers organization money would resonate with him given he made 5.5M total in his career to date.

[kodo]

They could have easily had Caruso without paying lux tax, they just turned around and gave that money (and more) to THT. Who happens to be a Klutch client. All this crying about too much lux tax is a sob story, he was easily affordable. They just valued their 2nd rounder over Caruso, which is fine. Those are the calls a FO makes.

Team
Los Angeles Lakers $9,500,000 $10,260,000 $11,020,000

Time will tell if they made the right call. I do think they're overvaluing THT on a team with Lebron/AD/Westbrook, but they know their own team best.

[Michael Jackson]

I don't blame the Lakers for letting Caruso go if they didn't want to pay the tax on him.

However, it's pretty hilarious that they would think that him saving the Lakers organization money would resonate with him given he made 5.5M total in his career to date.

Yeah it’s kinda cute. They have literally shipped everyone out since Lebron came and he is supposed to be loyal? This isn’t a Haslem situation either.

[ChettheJet]

I'm completely done worrying about the Lakers making a big mistake. They decided to take Lebron's advice on who he wanted to have on the team and honestly his formula has always had to be perfect to succeed. He wants guys who were stars 5-8 years ago but now he hopes they might have 1 really good game per week left in the tank and he hopes that 2 of them have that game at the same time to help him win games.

Caruso made the right choice for his long term future by getting the most money, and now he's seeing that he's a key piece on a pretty damn good team. He can look at Lonzo who had the chance to go other places and looks like he's found a home where he's expected to do what he does well and not become something he's not.