{"id":58383,"date":"2023-11-08T20:49:38","date_gmt":"2023-11-09T01:49:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=58383"},"modified":"2023-11-09T10:05:12","modified_gmt":"2023-11-09T15:05:12","slug":"nba-rumors-lakers-interested-in-reunion-with-fan-favorite-guard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/11\/08\/nba-rumors-lakers-interested-in-reunion-with-fan-favorite-guard\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Rumors: Lakers Interested in Reunion with Fan-Favorite Guard"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s never too early for trade rumors to begin. NBA writer Sean Deveney <\/span>reported<\/span><\/a> that the Lakers could be interested in reuniting with Bulls guard <\/span>Alex Caruso<\/b><\/a> to fix the mistake of letting him leave last summer.<\/span><\/p>\n

NBA Rumors: Lakers Interested in Reunion with Fan-Favorite Guard<\/b><\/h2>\n

Background<\/b><\/h3>\n

The Lakers had <\/span>lowballed<\/span><\/a> Caruso in the summer of 2021, ultimately allowing him to sign a four-year, $37 million contract with the Bulls. In the span since then, Caruso has averaged 6.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game, primarily off the bench. In eight games this year, he\u2019s putting up 6.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game on .543\/.350\/.667 splits.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Lakers\u2019 defense has taken a hit without him, as their bench posted defensive ratings of 55.5 in 2021-22 (14th in the NBA), and 56 last season (16th).<\/span><\/p>\n

Even with the Lakers\u2019 improvements in Caruso\u2019s absence, Deveney quoted an Eastern Conference executive who said the team regretted their decision \u201calmost immediately after it happened\u201d:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>They knew that was a mistake. He\u2019s not the same player now, but the Lakers are worried they don\u2019t have enough of an edge. He could be someone who helps fix that.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Bulls are currently under .500 to begin the season and were previously asking for <\/span>two first-round picks<\/span><\/a> for Caruso at last year\u2019s deadline. It\u2019s unclear if their stance has shifted now, but with a flurry of injuries and a rough patch to begin the season, it\u2019s reasonable that the Bulls part with several key role players before moving on from their stars.<\/span><\/p>\n

Is a Caruso-Lakers Reunion Feasible?<\/b><\/h3>\n

The Eastern Conference executive added that, should the Lakers desire a reunion with Caruso, some of their young players could be available. Two names mentioned were <\/span>Max Christie<\/b><\/a> and <\/span>Jalen Hood-Schifino<\/b><\/a>, two young guards who have received limited opportunities with LA so far. Christie has averaged 3.8 points per game across four contests, while JHS has yet to make his NBA debut. In terms of draft capital, the Lakers don\u2019t have many valuable picks, nor would they have to offer much in exchange for Caruso.<\/span><\/p>\n

Caruso would reprise his role as a plug-and-play point guard if he returned to LA, playing behind <\/span>D\u2019Angelo Russell<\/b><\/a> and <\/span>Gabe Vincent<\/b><\/a>. He would also make a key impact on the Lakers\u2019 offense. He\u2019s been efficient inside the arc, shooting 52% on twos\u2014including scoring 43% of his points in the paint. Caruso has also earned respect as a perimeter threat, shooting 36% from deep for his career. He\u2019s excelled in every position he\u2019s been in and has proven himself throughout, especially in his increased role with Chicago. A full-circle return to the Lakers would be ideal for both sides. Caruso would be able to compete for another championship, while the Lakers redeem themselves from one of their offseason mistakes.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Last Word on the Lakers and Alex Caruso<\/b><\/h3>\n

A Caruso reunion with the Lakers would be perfect if the stars aligned. He fits the two-way toughness that the Lakers have been missing, and is a Swiss-Army-Knife of a player the Lakers and their fans would welcome with open arms.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s never too early for trade rumors to begin. NBA writer Sean Deveney reported that the Lakers could be interested in reuniting with Bulls guard Alex Caruso to fix the mistake of letting him leave last summer. NBA Rumors: Lakers Interested in Reunion with Fan-Favorite Guard Background The Lakers had lowballed Caruso in the summer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":58385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,8,26,62,4721],"tags":[2037,307,4921,4907,4916,4774],"class_list":["post-58383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-bulls","category-lakers","category-nba","category-trade-rumors","tag-alex-caruso","tag-dangelo-russell","tag-gabe-vincent","tag-jalen-hood-schifino","tag-max-christie","tag-rumors"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}