5 controversial free agents the Bulls should avoid at all costs this summer

4. Cam Reddish

Not too long ago, I would have gushed over the opportunity to add Cam Reddish to this Bulls team without paying a hefty price tag. His potential on paper to become a great three-point shooter and lockdown defender is something scouts fantasize over. Unfortunately, this is a fantasy that has yet to come to fruition.

Bulls’ color commentator Stacey King himself has in the past gushed over what Reddish brings to the table, and I can’t deny bringing Cam to Chicago would be an interesting experiment that could pay big dividends. We’ve seen glimpses of this in the past, like when Reddish averaged 23.8 points per game on 44.4% shooting from beyond the arc during a four-game stretch in December 2021.

“Cam has always been a better player on paper than in real life, but that doesn’t mean teams are going to stop trying to crack the code any time soon,” I wrote back in January, “If anyone could figure out how to harness his immense 3-and-D potential and turn it into something tangible, they stand to massively benefit from taking a low-risk, high-reward gamble.”

Cam Reddish is a trap the Chicago Bulls must not fall for in free agency.

The primary difference between now and then, however, is the asking price. With Reddish on the trade block for pennies or the buyout market looking for a minimum contract, I can totally get behind that. But to pay a fair price on the open market? I’m not so sure I’d be willing to bite.

Cap management is going to be crucial for the Bulls moving forward now that Zach LaVine’s max contract has kicked in and Lonzo Ball has become essentially financial dead weight. Considering Reddish is a restricted free agent and Portland holds the right to match any offer sheet, the Bulls aren’t going to get away with a steal here. For that reason, I think the front office would be wise to invest its limited money in other players who are less of a gamble.