The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t have a start, they had expectations for this regular season. Moreover, they had a pretty successful offseason. The LA side retained all the players they wanted and maintained the theory of keeping the core together successfully. Moreover, they signed quality players like Cam Reddish, Taurean Prince, and Gabe Vincent. Hence, there was no reason to doubt the skill level of the members in their roster.
There was balance, and there was depth. Things looked pretty promising for the LA side. But things took a left turn when the Injured List started getting longer for the Lakers since the preseason. After the Lakers lost to the Kings, the front office has been planning to make a deal with the Chicago Bulls for Zach LaVine. But the LA side would not mind if the Bulls traded Alex Caruso to them and not LaVine.
Can The Lakers Get Back Alex Caruso From The Bulls?
Caruso was a fan favorite when the Lakers let him go two years ago in free agency. Later, Alex Caruso signed with the Bulls for a four-year deal worth $37 million. It would make so much more sense if the Lakers brought him back this season instead of buying a third star in the team. Perhaps the 17-time champions have learned the lesson of having a third star with the Russell Westbrook story. Hence, Caruso is a better option than LaVine for the Lakers.
Trying to trade for LaVine would be very costly as the LA side would have to give $40 million along with several key players. On the other hand, Alex Caruso’s contract would be super-team friendly, with the Lakers paying a mere $3 million this ongoing season and overall $9 million compared to both Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan. Caruso can be pretty vital in the absence of Vando in defense. He averaged 1.4 steals, and Caruso can shoot 60.8% from the field.
Lakers’ Injured List
At first, they ruled out Jarred Vanderbilt for a couple of weeks due to hip bursitis. Later, Gabe Vincent and Jalen Hood-Schifino put their names on the Injured List. The former Miami Heat guard will stay out for at least another couple of weeks. If these injuries were not enough, then the Lakers also missed the services of Anthony Davis for one game against the Memphis Grizzlies. Moreover, the Lakers lost horribly in that game. However, things did not change drastically for the LA side once AD returned to the game against the Sacramento Kings. The Lakers were 6-6 after the first twelve games this regular season.
But thanks to LeBron James for scoring 35 points, the Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 107-95. Hence, the LA side remained unbeaten in the in-season tournament so far. As a result, the Lakers are currently 7-6. Moreover, they are the 7th seed in the Western Conference at present. Most importantly, the 17-time champions would like to make the postseason without any tension or scare of missing out. Last regular season, it was a close call till the last game for the LA side if they could make the postseason. Eventually, they did as they qualified for the play-in tournament, and the rest is history. But this season, the Lakers are looking for another miracle to get back into form and play dominantly like they wanted to since the preseason.
