Alex Caruso, a guard with the Chicago Bulls, is a target for almost every NBA team. After all, teams who are serious about winning an NBA championship really need a player like Caruso—a tenacious defender who nearly always makes the proper play.
However, keeping Caruso is a primary goal for the Bulls, who have struggled to qualify for the playoffs in recent years. Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report reports that despite the attention AC has received leading up to the trade deadline, he may decide to remain in the Windy City.
Importance of Alex Caruso
The 29-year-old is regarded as one of the league’s most valuable players despite not being a particularly good player because of his adaptable skill set and capacity to influence games on both ends of the court.
Caruso has established himself as a ferocious defender on defense, able to disrupt opposing offenses with his lightning-fast hands and perfect timing. He can guard many spots. In addition, he has a high basketball IQ, which he frequently uses to predict plays and make critical defensive rotations. On Tuesday night, he demonstrated this ability against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Look at Alex Caruso here. Wolves have Conley/Gobert screen for Edwards to get Caruso switched off. Gobert goes right into a rescreen. Bulls in a drop but Caruso stays in help at the elbow. Double kicks White out of the matchup and gets the steal. pic.twitter.com/HNUnDGNWrU
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) February 7, 2024
Buckley wrote ,
“Virtually every win-now team (or even win-now hopeful) might have an interest in the 2022-23 All-Defensive first-teamer. He’s an easy fit and versatile, energetic contributor on both ends, and his $9.5 million salary is one of the best non-rookie-scale pay rates around,”
Alex Caruso plans to stay at Chicago
The Bulls still want to be a competitive club even though they might not contend for an NBA championship in the near future. Reaching that objective will be greatly aided by keeping Caruso. Buckley revealed that even if the Bulls are eager to bite, they might not let Caruso go, despite reports that the franchise has set an asking price of two first-round draft picks for Caruso. Buckley said,
“Someone might actually be willing to meet that price—it probably hinges on the draft years (the upcoming class doesn’t get real rave reviews) and protections on the picks—but even then, it’s hard to see the Bulls letting him go. They clearly value what he brings, and while they could do some selective selling at the deadline, nothing suggests they’ve given up on the idea of competing sooner rather than later,”