Lakers: LeBron James Really Wanted Alex Caruso Back in Los Angeles
The Lakers let Alex Caruso slip through their fingers over the offseason. A guy committed to the city and to winning, they chose another route rather than re-signing him to a deal following his 4 years there.
And Caruso was more than willing to take a pay cut in order to play for the Lakers. He talked about that after choosing the Bulls in free agency and netting a four-year, $37 million deal. That left the Lakers with other options.
That ended up being a massive deal that landed Russell Westbrook in Los Angeles. And that's got to be tough to swallow for Lakers fans, who almost universally adored Caruso.
But according to NBA insider Marc Stein, LeBron James was one of the guys that was on board with bringing Caruso back. He was one of the biggest advocates for him when they were going through the process.
"Yet one source did point out at least one counter on James’ behalf, noting that he was also one of the organization's staunchest Alex Caruso fans and badly wanted the Lakers to re-sign the defensive-minded guard."
Interestingly enough, Bron ended up being one of the biggest proponents of bringing Russ to LA as well. But a defensive-minded player like Caruso could have drastically improved this team, especially over the likes of Westbrook.
But it was not to be, and Caruso ended up going to the Bulls, another fanbase that has fallen in love with him. And the Lakers are stuck with a Westbrook experiment that has not worked out at all.
