Playing hard-charging Alex Caruso less might produce better results for the Bulls guard, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times writes, arguing that Caruso’s style lends itself to playing in shorter bursts. Rookie Dalen Terry, another high-energy defender, could take away a few of Caruso’s minutes and that actually might be a good thing.
Caruso averaged 7.4 PPG, 4.0 APG and 1.7 SPG in his first year with the Bulls while being limited to 41 games due to injuries. He’s entering the second year of his four-year, $37MM contract.
We have more from the Eastern Conference:
- A breakout season from power forward Patrick Williams could be the Bulls’ biggest hope for internal improvement, according to NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson. Williams missed most of last season due to a wrist injury. However, his skills could go a long way toward helping the Bulls fare better against the conference’s elite, Johnson notes, as he’ll often draw the opponent’s top player defensively.
- Wizards lottery pick Johnny Davis will likely fight for minutes with last year’s first-round pick Corey Kispert, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Davis projects as a better defender than Kispert, but Kispert has the edge in experience and 3-point shooting. Becoming a better spot-up shooter will be pivotal for Davis to live up to his draft status, notes one of several scouts interviewed by Robbins to evaluate the rookie’s strengths and weaknesses.
- Not surprisingly, Cade Cunningham is the most valuable asset the Pistons possess, The Athletic’s James Edwards III writes. However, their second-most valuable asset isn’t a player currently on their roster but rather their draft pick next year, since Detroit is expected to be in the lottery again. Edwards ranks the team’s top 10 assets, with rookie guard Jaden Ivey coming in third.
I feel like a Cliff Robinson type career is prob the best case scenario for Pat Williams. Pat is a slightly better defender & Cliff was a better scorer but there are def similarities. Pat’s prob never gonna be an all-star but he could be a really impactful forward for good teams for a long time & should def be a perennial 6MOY candidate if Chi is able to bring him off the bench in the future
link to youtube.com … Pat in 5yrs if he stays healthy & continues to get stronger & tighten his game up
Honestly the Bulls best hope for improvement is for Vucevich to learn to stay in the paint where he serves their scheme the best, or to be traded for someone who does.
Caruso should not be starting, ever, he is an ‘energy guy’, and if Terry leaves the bench it means they have too many injuries again. Cowley is an idiot and everyone in Chicago ignores his nonsense.
Yes, but Pat Williams improving is much more likely than Vucevic suddenly learning to play defense
Even if Vuc doesn’t play D his hook shot is deadly from <10 and opens up kicks for other players. His 3 was useless last year, a majority of his makes were inconsequential in their scheme, just stat padding.
I thought Johnny Davis is a PG while Kispert is a SF.
Hachimura needs to be more consistent this year as he missed so many games due to injuries. He won’t last long in the league if he keeps getting hurt.
I think that we’re going to see the Knicks version of Porzingis this season, he looked so good with the Latvian teams especially against Turkey.
It’s time to play him as a 5.
Wizards have a better roster than a lot of other Eastern teams and might get a shot at the play-in.
Wiz are my sleeper pick. They actually have the pieces to add and Morris, Beal, kuzma, porzingis a good start. I mean the perfect fit would be to add a kawhi or Paul George to that but Harrison Barnes would be an interesting target should the king’s start slow.
Bulls should sign DeMarcus Cousins to a two year deal.
Id also look at that Lakers trade, Westbrook and two firsts for LaVine. Opens up FA in 2023 and gives the team some assets for trades. Westbrook may sign a competitive deal in 2023 and he is a great point guard.
Westbrook
Ball
DeRozan
Williams
Cousins (trade Vucevic)
Drummond
Dosunmu
Caruso
Allows the team to extend Williams and Cousins is as good or better of a player than Vucevic.
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Why sign Boogie for 2 years when you can sign him for 10 days? Also, you Chi trade is awful. Why would the Bulls want 2 guards that can’t shoot?
DeRozan would playing the 3 and Lonzo can shoot. He hit .375, .378 and .423 from deep the last 3 seasons
I like the idea of potentially having Westbrook on a three year 60M-80M dollar deal running point guard than LaVine for five and 220M,
The picks will be ’27 and ’29 and can be used for a trade at the deadline if you are in position to win or stash them and add a nice player or two in free agency for a run in 2023.
If you add Cousins and trade Vucevic you can pick up some more assets, cut a bunch of salary and basically you’re running with a very similar team on a more manageable payroll that will allow you to add a couple more pieces via trade or in free agency 2023
The Bulls will be good if they run with LaVine and stay healthy, signing Andre Drummond was a nice addition but I like the idea of Westbrook running point, I think he’d be a good fit on the Bulls.
bwmiller, Don’t suggest any possible Bulls trades. Ever. Nobody wants Westbrook anymore. Well, Maybe his mother, But I’m trying to confirm but she’s not returning my call. BTW what draft picks? 2042 and 43?
No!
The Bulls don’t need Cousins nor do they need Westbrooks.
They need a PF to start with Williams coming off the bench or shifting DeRozan to SG and Williams to SF and trade LaVine for someone expiring contract that plays PF and draft picks.
Williams is ready to make a leap. I think Chicago can be a top 3 team in the East if Ball is healthy. I think the Nets and 76er’s drama will hold the back. I think Miami is going to make a trade at the deadline. Celtics and Bucks should be really good.
I see no drama on Sixers. Very talented and deep team friend. Bulls are outside looking in top 5 teams in east. Bucks celtics heat nets Sixers in some variation.
Pat Williams is just another Marvin Williams. Solid all round player. But both nothing special
He literally just turned 21 years old yesterday. Let’s give him a little more time before “he’s nothing special”