Report points to Max Strus as an ideal free-agent target for the Chicago Bulls

Could a player be coming back to play for his hometown Chicago Bulls? Hard-nosed wingman Max Strus—born and raised in Hickory Hills, Illinois, before attending DePaul—is being reported as a suitable free-agent candidate for the Bulls, owing to his solid perimeter defense and three-point shooting.

The Bulls have a lot of things to address heading into the new season, but foremost is their three-point shooting, as they finished dead-last in the NBA in three-pointers attempted and made. Strus, an unrestricted free agent, would substantially help the Bulls in that category as he shot seven triples per game this past season, making at least two every game.

A home run

According to Dan Favale of Bleacher Report, landing Strus when the free agency period starts on Friday would be huge for the Bulls.

“Bagging Max Strus would be a home run,” wrote Favale. “His three-point efficiency dropped to 35 percent this season and slipped even further in the postseason (31.9 percent). But those clips came amid a steady diet of pull-ups and off-motion looks, on volume for which Chicago should endlessly lust (nearly nine attempts per 36 minutes during the regular season).”

According to @BleacherReport, Max Strus should be the #Bulls top free agent this summer.

Strus played for the Bulls 2019-2020. pic.twitter.com/mhDlCH7cqG
— Die-Hard Chicago Bulls Fans (@DieHardCBfans) June 28, 2023

Stretch the floor

With the news of Nikola Vucevic’s extension, the Bulls’ plan of running the very same team back is near completion. This will feature a lot of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Vucevic, which means the Bulls must make changes around the fringes. Adding a player like Strus would help space the floor for DeRozan and LaVine’s offensive skills and give the stars a reliable three-point shooter to kick the ball out to when the defense collapses on them.