Getty Kirk Hinrich
The Chicago Bulls seem to have locked in a winner in Alex Caruso. He helped the Los Angeles Lakers win a championship two years ago and he plays a fan-friendly style.
The host of the Big Red Bus pocast and contributor to Chicago Bulls Eye, Fred Pfeiffer aka See Red Fred, went as far as to call Caruso “everything Kirk Hinrich allegedly was.”
Take a look:
I freaking love Caruso. He’s everything Hinrich allegedly was.
Fred, we hear and appreciate the love for Caruso, but why are we slandering Kirk Hinrich in the process?
There Should Be No Kirk Hinrich Slander
While Hinrich was never as athletic as Caruso, he was one of the hardest-working and consistent performers in Bulls history.
On a recent episode of the Knuckleheads podcast featuring Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson, the hosts and Bulls great Joakim Noah put some respect on Hinrich’s name.
Take a look at this conversation on Hinrich between the three men.
- Joakim Noah: “At the end of the day, that award was Defensive Team. It’s like ok, you get that award, but Kirk Hinrich? I mean come on now. Y’all played against this guy.”
- Darius Miles: “I’ve been playing against Kirk since AAU days. He’s been a beast.”
- Quentin Richardson: “Him and Nick Collison, ain’t no back down in them boys.”
- Joakim Noah: “He had a heart of a lion. Let’s not forget. Let’s give credit where credit is due. This is not an individual game.”
It’s nice to see former teammates and foes give Hinrich his due. He never won a championship, but any failure on his part never seemed to be caused by a lack of effort. I’m not sure there is a better compliment you can give a person.
Here is a look at the entire interview with Noah:
Caruso Still Has the Potential to Be a Major Player for The 2021-22 Bulls
For his career, Caruso has been a complimentary player. That’s what happens when you play alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
However, that time with those great players and Caruso’s own talent and hard work have made him potentially one of the best signings of the offseason. Caruso talked about his experience playing with LeBron, Rajon Rondo and others in Los Angeles.
Caruso said this during a postgame presser following the Bulls’ preseason win over the New Orleans Pelicans:
Anytime LeBron is on your team, you’re playing for a championship. It’s not a secret. If he’s on your team, it’s pretty much like you go to the Finals and try to win a championship. If you don’t win it, it’s kind of a failure. That’s kind of the ridiculous status quo that he has put upon himself after so many years of success. Just being around that kind of atmosphere, day in and day out, and being around older guys who have been around the league and won championships like LeBron, Danny Green, Rajon Rondo, you could just see there was a different type of mantra to them. How they carried themselves. How they competed. How they played. It was something I was just fortunate to be a part of.
Caruso is well on his way to being as much of a favorite as Hinrich was during his time in Chicago. Hopefully, Caruso can be a part of even more team success.
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Bulls New Addition Called ‘Everything Kirk Hinrich Allegedly Was’