Getty Alex Caruso hugging Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
With the NBA season over for the Los Angeles Lakers, they are going to have a litany of free-agent decisions to make. Many of their top players will no longer be under contract once free agency starts. There are players that the team would be wise to move on from but Alex Caruso is a guy they need to try to keep.
The 27-year-old guard has become one of the most important players for the Lakers. He was a 40.1% shooter from three last season and continues to be a great defender. There’s no doubt Los Angeles will try to keep him and he even admitted that he hopes to run it back due to the fact that the team has Anthony Davis and LeBron James on the squad.
“Any time you’re playing with [Davis and LeBron] you have a chance to win a championship,” Caruso said Friday. “And I know a lot of people around the league they think they do and going into the season everybody talks about what their goals are and stuff like that. But that’s a realistic, attainable goal with those two guys on your team. So that’s always in the back of your mind.”
“I’m a free agent looming come August. Hopefully, we can return and continue our great partnership, but that’s obviously for a later date.”
Caruso has become a huge fan favorite for the Lakers’ fan base and LeBron loves playing with the guard. It’s possible he could get more money elsewhere but the chance to play for championships is certainly alluring.
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Caruso Being Realistic Heading Into Free Agency
While Caruso was beloved in Los Angeles, it’s not easy playing in the city. The fan base expects championship basketball every night and anything less can get the team in hot water. Caruso believes the Lakers have the upper hand in free agency but it’s not a given that he’ll return.
“I’m a realistic human being. I understand different things happen in L.A. for certain reasons. I’m forever grateful for that, and we’ll see where everything lies,” Caruso said. “But like I said, I’ve got to rank stuff, and that’s obviously not something I’ve thought about in-depth 12 hours after the season ended. I’ll look more into that in July, but yeah, those are definitely things that L.A. takes into consideration maybe more so than other places.”
Caruso Expands on His Upcoming Offseason
The Lakers are the only NBA team that Caruso has actually played for and he’s never had the chance to be a sought-after free agent. He may not be a superstar, but there’s no doubt many teams will want him. He’s looking forward to the idea of not having to worry about finding a gig for the first offseason since entering the league.
“There’s a lot of things that I will sit down and think about and plan out, including what my offseason looks like,” Caruso said. “Things that I finally have a real chance to do now that I have a real offseason being a pro. I’m not scrapping for a job, wondering where I’m going to play. So that’s something I don’t think I can answer right now. Obviously, there’s a bunch of different things that go into it.”
Caruso is in for the best payday of his career. Whether or not the Lakers are the team to gives it to him remains to be seen.
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