Chicago Bulls: Alex Caruso ballin’ out in the gym this summer

A key addition to the bench for head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls heading into next season came in the form of the former Los Angeles Lakers point guard Alex Caruso. The Bulls invested a good bit to sign Caruso this summer to add a defensive boost to the backcourt unit. Caruso was signed down to a four-year contract worth around $37 million in total.

Caruso has stayed active in the social media spotlight in the last couple of weeks since he was signed by the Bulls. That includes highlights of him hitting the gym this week, and looking good while doing so.

It’s clear that Caruso is working on his shooting and ball-handling this summer. We already know that he is a premier perimeter defender in this league. But if he can improve his offensive game too, this will be a very good signing for the Bulls.

Chicago Bulls fans should be excited about what they’re seeing out of Alex Caruso

The Bulls are getting a nice boost, not only to the perimeter defending in this rotation but with a solid shooter from deep. Caruso shot the ball from deep at a clip of north of 40 percent last season and posted a defensive box plus/minus of 2.3.

Adding Caruso to the mix should give the Bulls a versatile backcourt unit that features a lot of pop. Caruso will highlight the likely reserves in this backcourt unit for head coach Billy Donovan and the Bulls heading into next season, along with to-be third-year point guard Coby White.

What’s also nice about adding Caruso is the fact that he could plug a lot of the holes in this defense on the perimeter caused by the chasing and bad fouls of Coby. And when Coby is out-of-rhythm shooting from the field, Caruso can be a steadier presence in catch-and-shoot looks.

Caruso can also be a good switchable defender that can help either point guard Lonzo Ball or star shooting guard Zach LaVine with the top unit. There’s clearly a lot that Donovan and the Bulls can do with Caruso as a solid fit with this backcourt unit heading into next season.

There’s still room that the front office has to round out this Bulls rotation heading into Training Camp and the preseason. A trio of key roster spots to fill will be a notable storyline for the Bulls for the remainder of the offseason.