Alex Caruso still believes about ‘what might’ve been’ with the Lakers

LOS ANGELES – Perhaps no group is more involved in NBA trade reports than the Chicago Bulls, however their mostpopular product mostlikely isn’t who you believe. 

Though the group’s lineup has 3 previous All-Stars who have balanced around 25 points or more at different points in their professions, it’s Alex Caruso, a guy who went undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2016 and had to claw his method into the league.

The 29-year-old Caruso has because made a name for himself as a difference-maker, the kind of hard-nosed protector who makes basic supervisors drool. He works around the fringes of box ratings, defecting passes and changing shots, silently steering videogames with his outsized IQ like a puppet master pulling strings. 

Multiple groups would love to acquire him and his fairly deal income of $9.5 million ahead of the Feb. 8 trade duedate, however the Bulls apparently aren’t interested in interesting in talks – unless it’s at a high rate. 

None of this is lost on Caruso, who not too long back didn’t understand if he’d have any remaining power in the NBA. 

“Yeah, it’s truly cool,” Caruso informed FOX Sports after the Bulls’ loss to the Lakers on Thursday. “It’s a testimony to the journey and the work I’ve put in. I kept chasing enhancement, whatever element of the videogame it was. Taking training. Putting my ego and pride aside. Looking in the mirror and stating, ‘What can I infact get muchbetter at?’ And then putting my head down and going to work.”

While the Bulls were built around the offensive skill of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic and Lonzo Ball, behind Caruso they endedup with the fifth-best protective score last season. Caruso was called to the All-Defensive veryfirst group, and led all guards in defensive LEBRON, a metric that steps defensive effect.

This summertime, Caruso put himself into endingupbeing more of a hazard on the offensive end to assistance take the load off of the group’s stars. He’s presently balancing career-highs in points (10.1), field-goal portion (49.1%), 3-point portion (41.5 %) and obstructs (1.0) for the Bulls, who are ninth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 21-25.

Caruso is seen as the type of gamer who might assistance a group endedupbeing a real competitor. And amongst the groups supposedly interested in getting him are the Milwaukee Bucks and the Lakers, whom he won a champion with in 2020. 

Caruso, who played 4 seasons with the Lakers from 2017 to 2021, wove gold out of a two-way agreement with the group, ultimately endingupbeing a essential part of their title run and a fan favorite who frequently drew MVP chants. But Caruso left the Lakers in totallyfree company after the Bulls used him a four-year, $37 million offer, more than what the Lakers were prepared to pay ($21 million over 3 years), a choice the Lakers would plainly come to remorse. 

Caruso has just evenmore progressed in Chicago. But when asked if he has any “what ifs” about leaving the Lakers, he didn’t bereluctant. 

“Yeah, absolutely,” Caruso informed FOX Sports. “Just since of how well I played with them when I was here. I understand how I supported them. And I’ve gotten muchbetter. I was anticipating myself to get muchbetter. It’s really what had to relocation me on. I kept getting muchbetter and ultimately I was at a point where I couldn’t stay here. 

“I certainly have constantly idea about it since those guys [LeBron James and Anthony Davis] are my bros. We’ve been through a lot together. Always excellent seeing them. Every now and then you believe about what might’ve been.”

While Caruso hasactually shined separately this season, his star-studded Bulls group has yet onceagain underperformed inthemiddleof several injuries. (Ball hasn’t played consideringthat Jan. 2022 since of knee surgicaltreatments, LaVine has just played in 25 videogames this season and Torrey Craig simply 27.) In a league that has a brief attention period, that indicates the Bulls haveactually been nose-diving into the report mill, with concerns over whether the front workplace will choose to blow it all up or stay the course. 

So, the futures of Caruso, LaVine, DeRozan and their colleagues haveactually been stuck in unpredictability, something they’ve supported each other through all season. 

“That’s what we’re here for,” Caruso informed FOX Sports. “You have to lean on your guys and block out the sound since it’s such a grind of a season.”

Meanwhile, Caruso is doing what he has constantly done – focus on the work. 

There was the time when the 6-foot-5 Caruso shut down the almost 7-foot Kevin Durant over the 4th quarter and overtime of a videogame versus Phoenix in November, holding him to simply 4 points over those durations. Durant went on to call Caruso “a extraordinary gamer.”

Or the time when Caruso removed the ball from Pascal Siakam with seconds to go in overtime in a videogame versus Toronto in October, and then made a game-winning 3-guideline on the other end. 

“He’s one-of-a-kind,” DeRozan stated of Caruso. “One of our preferred colleagues. One of the hardest, mostintelligent rivals that you can have on your group.”

Added Bulls coach Billy Donovan: “[He’s] entirely all about winning. That’s all he cares about is winning. And he’s ready to do a lot of things that wear’t program up in the stat sheet. He does a lot of things that you can’t step. He’s a winning gamer. He’s an impactful gamer.”

Caruso is pleased that he hasactually gone from being a G League gamer into somebody who hasactually made the regard of everybody he has played togetherwith. 

But he acknowledged that he still feels underrated in a sense, specifically when it comes to being taken seriously as a competitor for the Defensive Player of the Year award. 

“Yeah, perhaps,” Caruso informed FOX Sports when asked if he doesn’t get the correct factortoconsider. “There’s typically a little bit of politics with the league and the media of how that is routed and who gets to win that. But it’s a distinguished award. It’s not provided out to simply anyone. You’ve got to make it. For a guard to make it, you’ve got to do a lot since typically it’s predominately a huge male award, at least for the most part. Marcus Smart got it a couple of years ago and broke the streak. 

“But perhaps that’s in the cards ultimately. That’s something I put on the list to shot to achieve. I might neverever get it. I might constantly simply keep chasing it. But that’s kind of what I do — simply keep goingafter.”

It’s an technique that has worked for Caruso. 

It got him into the league. It put him on the map. And now, it’s assisting him grow amidst all the sound. 

“I’ve discovered a love and a enthusiasm for simply working,” he stated. 

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA author for FOX Sports. She formerly covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.