Lakers Rumors: LA Interested In Bringing Back Alex Caruso Via Trade, Says Executive

Is this a good idea?

As the Lakers currently sit at 3-4 with a matchup against the 3-3 Houston Rockets this evening, the team's rough start has begun to raise eyebrows when it comes to the roster construction.

Specifically, the Lakers seem to be lacking something in every game, whether it be shooting, defense, shot creation, or rebounding, LA is deficient in something and that's directly culpable for the loss. 

For example, against the Clippers, despite coming away with a victory, the Lakers let up 125 points including a highly efficient 73 to Paul George and Kawhi Leonard combined. While it's easy to bask in the victory, that same poor defense caused issues in other games, including ceding 120 points to a very short-handed Orlando Magic team. 

Offensively, the Lakers have really struggled when it comes to shooting the ball, shooting at the 23rd best clip in the league from 3-point land, and sitting at 29th in the league in terms of points via 3-point shots. 

This has led Sean Deveney of of Heavy.com to suggest that the Lakers trade for Alex Caruso, who currently plays for the Chicago Bulls. Caruso was a member of the 2020 Lakers title team prior to being let walk after the 2021 season. 

With Chicago, Caruso has flourished, and was an All-Defensive First Team selection this past season. He's a plug-and-play guy who can contribute to any and every team he's a part of, and that would be indubitably true if he were to don the purple and gold again. 

Here's what Deveney wrote about how the Lakers feel:

“The rumor around the Lakers was they regretted letting him go almost immediately after it happened,” one Eastern Conference exec told Heavy Sports. “They knew that was a mistake. He’s not the same player now, but the Lakers are worried they don’t have enough of an edge. He could be someone who helps fix that.”

Evidently, the Lakers want him back – the question which of LA's problem does he fix, and is that worth buying into what is being dubbed by Deveney as an "overvalued" market for Caruso? 

The Lakers would likely have to deal young guard Jalen Hood-Schifino in the transaction, but due to NBA signing restrictions, they can't move him until December 15th. 

Max Christie is another name, but given that the Lakers refused to deal the 17th pick which was used on Hood-Schifino back before the draft, it seems like GM Rob Pelinka is high on keeping the young guys around. 

To that end, the Lakers may not have an optimal package outside of potentially moving D'Angelo Russell or Gabe Vincent. 

Offensively, however, both of those guys are better than Caruso, and a Lakers team with one less shot creator could be an offensive nightmare. 

As it is, the Lakers have the 17th-ranked offense, which is also heavily skewed up by their 130-point explosion against the Clippers. Outside of that, they're yet to break 110, which would be ranked around 20th in the league. 

Defensively, they'd certainly be better, but this wouldn't necessarily be a matter of addition by subtraction. Asking a defensive-minded player to fill the void of a playmaking/scoring guard like Russell/Vincent would leave the offense much worse off, and playing teams like Denver, who are borderline unguardable, you need to score to keep up with them. This move would not help that. 

The Lakers also lack 3-point shooting, as mentioned before, but Caruso is not a great 3-point shooter. He's a career 36.5% guy on few attempts, and has been worse since leaving Los Angeles. 

Bottom line, if the Lakers can snag Caruso without moving off of a scoring guard like Russell or Vincent, then I think it's a great move. You add tremendous value to the roster at no expense when it comes to the short-term. 

For the Lakers, with it being LeBron's last couple of seasons (if not his last), it's logical to go all-in and move off of the younger guys. It's just a question of if Pelinka would do it. 

If you have to deal a scorer for Caruso, I don't think that makes sense. He adds value to a defense that's typically great, but takes away from an offense that is highly questionable. 

Let's see if Pelinka has plans up his sleeve – if not Caruso, there are plenty of other players that can add great value. It just comes down to his willingness to move the younger guys who can't contribute for a while longer. 

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