Chicago Bulls: Re-signing Nikola Vucevic to a 3-year, $60M contract extension
Oof. Looking back at this offseason move, it almost makes you second-guess so much more for the team. Nikola Vucevic is being paid for what he has done in the past and not for what he's doing now. That is a dangerous game for 33-year-olds whose play has been declining each season with the Bulls.
For a big man who shoots 3-pointers, he is currently shooting the 2nd worst percentage in his career at 28.1%. Not great for a not-so-athletic 33-year-old who's not contributing to many wins. The Bulls may have thought they'd be able to get away with this one but it hasn't worked out all that well.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Signing Max Strus to a 4-year, $64M contract
The Cleveland Cavaliers were between a rock and a hard place in the offseason. They needed wing depth following a loss to the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs. Max Strus went undrafted out of DePaul and became a very solid role player for a Miami Heat team that gets the most out of their undrafted free agents.
Strus was coming off a good 2023 playoffs and the Cavs bit. If you are going to get paid to be a 3-point shooter, you better make your 3s. Currently, Strus is hitting just over 34 percent from 3, on over eight attempts per game. While this might be a bit nit-picky, this could easily fall into the regrettable category pretty quickly.