It Turns Out The Lakers Being Cheap As Hell Ended Up Being A Huge Blessing For The Chicago Bulls

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Things can get a little out of hand at times when it comes to NBA contracts. You see some of the numbers being thrown around and it can shock you. As the salary cap goes up and TV money starts coming in, we're seeing guys make 40-50M a year. It's nuts. But there are also a handful of guys that have shown to make an impact that do not cost an arm and a leg. You can get these guys for a market price if you wish. Alex Caruso is one of those guys. His 4/37M deal is not outrageous by any means. He's off to a terrific start defensively for the 1st place Bulls (tied w/ MIA but you get the point) and I would go so far to say that he's had an All NBA Defensive caliber start. He's a perfect glue guy for a team looking to be competitive. Caruso might not be a difference maker by himself, but he can absolutely be part of a championship equation, we've seen it. 

That's what makes his story about his free agency so interesting. If anyone should have known his value and what he can bring to a contending team, it was the Lakers. This wasn't a case where Caruso got an outrageous offer of like 80M. He got a market value offer and even went back, twice, to the Lakers because he wanted to stay. If we're to believe this story, the Lakers wouldn't even go as high as 2/15M to bring him back. Meanwhile, they had no problem giving Talen Horton-Tucker 3/30M which is a little confusing. Even if you think THT has a higher ceiling, the decision to cheap out when it comes to Alex Caruso is a little strange. Especially when we had a body of evidence that showed he worked perfectly playing next to LeBron. 

For a team that certainly has defensive struggles (Lakers rank 14th), something tells me they could use someone like Caruso. Just last year their Drtg went from 101 to 108 when he stepped off the floor. In the 2019 season it was the same thing. A 101 rating with Caruso on, a 107 rating when he was off. Meanwhile, the Bulls currently have the 4th best defense in the entire NBA. Caruso is 6th in the entire league in deflections (40). He's 2nd in the entire NBA in STL% among guards who actually play legit minutes and 3rd overall in steals.

I think it's fair to suggest that he's absolutely playing up to his current deal. You look at the BUlls most used lineup with Caruso and the proof is in the pudding

Ball/Caruso/LaVine/DeRozan/Vucevic: 9 games / 60 minutes / 105 Ortg / 93.8 Drtg / +11.3 net rating

Shit, the second most used Caruso lineup has a 86 Drtg and a +36 net rating. He's making a tangible impact on that end of the floor and it's for sure a contributing factor to why the Bulls have had their early success.

I would love to hear the Lakers/LeBron respond to this Caruso story. This is supposed to be the big bad Lakers. I thought they had endless money and could just buy whoever they want, and they chose to cheap out on a proven guy that helped them win a title? A guy who was even willing to take even less just so he could stay? That's rough. I think we can all agree that if LeBron wanted him on the roster he would be a Laker right now, so what gives? Did LeBron just prefer his friends or something? Did Pelinka actually overrule LeBron? 

But hey, you know what they say. One team's trash can end up being another team's treasure. Not only has Caruso made an immediate impact, but it seems like Bulls fans love the guy. The fit appears to be perfect for everyone involved. It's good to see that when a team actually values a player it works out (so far). If the Lakers continue to struggle defensively, you almost have to wonder if maybe they realize they made a big time mistake being cheap when it came to Caruso. Especially if LeBron is going to miss an extended period of time and they really need lock in defensively.