LeBron James admits he misses Alex Caruso 'every single day'
· Yahoo Sports
One of the moves the Los Angeles Lakers made in recent years that their fans are still upset about was their decision to let Alex Caruso leave in free agency. Caruso, who went undrafted in 2016, emerged into a key role player for the Lakers when they won the NBA championship in 2020, only to leave the team in free agency a year later.
He received a low offer from them that summer, and even though he got a strong offer from the Chicago Bulls, he was reportedly willing to stay put for a lesser amount of money. The Lakers still said no, and since then, Caruso has gone on to win another world title with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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On a recent episode of his "Mind the Game" podcast, LeBron James admitted that he misses Caruso "every single day."
“I miss [Alex Caruso] every single day, every single day. To be able to compete against him, in a playoff series, it’s everything. Two things are for certain: if you wanna compete, AC’s gonna be right there.
He’s gonna get underneath you, he’s gonna grab you, hold you, he’s gonna compete, and he’s gonna do it at a professional level. AC’s not gonna beat himself; you have to play that chess game with AC, understanding where he is on the floor.”
Caruso has become an outstanding defender, not to mention a smart one, over the years, and he is also the type of player who will sacrifice his body to go after loose balls and make hustle plays. But in this year's playoffs, he has also raised his offensive game.
In Game 1 of the Western Conference finals versus the San Antonio Spurs, he dropped 31 points and hit eight 3-pointers. He then followed that performance up with 17 points in Game 2 and 15 points in Game 3. The Thunder lead that series two games to one and seem to be in solid position to repeat as NBA champions.
It is a constant reminder to the Lakers and their fans of the blunder that took place nearly five years ago when the franchise refused to invest a reasonable amount of money to bring back a winning role player and fan favorite.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: LeBron James admits he misses Alex Caruso 'every single day'