Typically you don’t know the worth of what you had till you lose it and up to date developments within the NBA could have the LA Lakers having that very same feeling.
LA Lakers‘ fortunes have shifted a bit after three consecutive wins catapulted them to sixth within the Western Convention however the delicate underbelly stays.
LeBron James has crushed Father Time once more to safe some large wins however Magic Johnson’s assertion about Lakers’ function gamers nonetheless rings true.
The defensive depth continues to be not there and that three-game profitable streak isn’t getting anybody to hurry to crown them as contenders for a title.
One participant that they had might have raised their ceiling and after his newest contract extension, it’s clear that the Lakers lowballing him on the time is a transfer that has aged like milk.
The final time the Lakers received a championship was within the 2019/20 season and a 25-year-old guard was doing the grunt work in a crew of superstars.
Alex Caruso had established himself within the NBA as a defensive pest and a reasonably dependable three-point shooter, the kind of function participant championship success is constructed on the efforts of.
He performed 24 minutes per recreation for that championship run and after establishing himself as a real NBA commodity, he was trying to receives a commission.
The Chicago Bulls provided him a four-year, $37 million deal however Caruso wished to stay a Laker. He provided them the possibility to match it so he might stay there.
As an alternative, the Lakers’ finest provide for him was a three-year, $21 million deal as a result of they wished to prioritize protecting maintain of Talen Horton-Tucker, who they paid $32 million over three years.
Caruso went from energy to energy with the Bulls, ending within the high 10 for the Defensive Participant of the 12 months award as soon as and making the All-NBA Protection Group twice (1st and 2nd).
The Bulls reached the playoffs solely as soon as with him, the place he began all 4 video games however his worth to a championship contender was clear. So one pounced on him.
After getting traded by the Bulls within the final yr of his deal, the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder introduced him on as they seemed to construct on a crew brimming with potential.
Caruso introduced his trademark hustle and energy to the Thunder and the result’s the Thunder sitting first within the West with the most effective protection within the NBA.
Caruso has performed 20 minutes per recreation, all from the bench, however his defensive depth stays unmatched which is why he’s simply been awarded a four-year, $81 million contract extension.
That’s greater than twice the quantity that Caruso requested of the Lakers, and that too solely as an identical provide, not even a profitable one.
The Lakers are in defensive purgatory this season and the very fact they might have the proper participant proper now to sort out that concern wouldn’t make issues any simpler.
Alex Caruso is the LA Lakers’ largest remorse.
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