Perhaps the biggest blunder by the Los Angeles Lakers over the past few seasons was allowing All-Defense guard Alex Caruso to walk to the Chicago Bulls on a deal that L.A. could have afforded. Caruso was a perfect fit next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and the trio had some of the best advanced statistics in the NBA to prove it.
Caruso was instrumental in L.A. winning a championship in 2020, then followed it up with an even better season in 2020-21 before moving on to Chicago. Caruso famously wanted to stay in L.A. and gave the Lakers every opportunity to retain him at a reasonable price. General manager Rob Pelinka and the Lakers chose to move on, and Caruso has firmly established himself as one of the league’s best perimeter defenders in the years since.
The Lakers have reportedly tried to re-acquire Caruso via trade multiple times during his stint with the Bulls, but Chicago values Caruso too highly to let him go. Meanwhile, Caruso has spent plenty of time reminiscing on his Lakers stint and what could have been if he had stayed, according to Melissa Rohlin of Fox Sports:
“Yeah, definitely,” Caruso told FOX Sports. “Just because of how well I played with them when I was here. I know how I supported them. And I’ve gotten better. I was expecting myself to get better. It’s actually what had to move me on. I kept getting better and eventually I was at a point where I couldn’t stay here.
“I definitely have always thought about it because those guys [LeBron James and Anthony Davis] are my brothers. We’ve been through a lot together. Always good seeing them. Every now and then you think about what could’ve been.”
The Lakers handling of the Caruso situation was always a huge mistake, but given how openly he wishes he could have stuck around makes it an even worse mess-up by the L.A. front office. It’s very rare that ultra-elite role players prioritize their fit when they have a chance to get paid more elsewhere, and Caruso was open about his willingness to do that to stay with the Lakers.
Kyle Lowry is name to watch for Lakers
With the recent trade involved the Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets swapping Kyle Lowry for Terry Rozier, the former may be bought out in the final year of his contract.
Lowry has long been a player of interest for the Lakers going back to when he was with the Toronto Raptors, and now the team appears to have interest again if he’s bought out by the Hornets.
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