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Alex Caruso

Mercurial Playmaker or Lethal 3-Point Shooter? How Lakers Can Have Both?

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The Lakers were confronted with pro basketball’s version of Sophies’ choice: the mercurial ‘difference-making playmaker’ or the lethal sharp shooter who took more threes than any player not named Steph Curry?

After negotiating with both the Sacramento Kings for Buddy Hield and the Washington Wizards for Russell Westbrook, the Lakers made a last minute decision to go with the mercurial playmaker over the lethal 3-point shooter. But there are whispers around the league the Lakers may have been simply setting the stage to expand the parameters of the Russell Westbrook trade to include other players and teams with a goal of still landing Buddy Hield.

In fact, you could argue giving up almost all of your trading chips for a max contract point guard who can’t shoot the three would be idiotic unless the Lakers had a plan to expand the trade to include Buddy Hield or a shooter.

WHY THE WESTBROOK TRADE COULD BE EXPANDED

Because the trade can’t be finalized until after the August 6 free agent moratorium begin, the Lakers still have time and opportunity to expand the trade to enable them to land both Russell Westbrook and Buddy Hield.

There’s a viable argument Rob Pelinka and Tommy Sheppard have agreed in advance to allow either team to expand the trade. Washington already has done this by trading the #22 pick in the draft to Indiana for Aaron Holiday. The obvious tell that this might be the case was the Wizards announcing to their fans that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was a keeper but Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell wouldn’t be part of the team’s roster on opening day.

Remember Kuzma and Harrell were the players the Sacramento Kings had tentatively agreed to accept in trade for prodigious 3-point shooter Buddy Hield. Coincidence or not, that opens the door for LA to expand the trade. The way this transaction is happening reminds me of how Pelinka, Griffin, and Sheppard managed the AD deal, which ended up being a three-team trade helping the Lakers could clear cap space to pursue Kawhi Leonard.

The Lakers have multiple options to try and expand the Russell Westbrook trade to include Buddy Hield. While accomplishing that will take some salary cap magic, it’s what multiple-team trades were designed to do.

CAN THE LAKERS AFFORD TO ACQURE BUDDY HIELD?

Aside from the logistic challenges acquiring Buddy, the question may be can the Lakers afford him? Everybody is assuming the Lakers are all-in on paying whatever they have to win since they traded for Russell Westbrook.

The problem is the total cost of going all-in could be prohibitive. Re-signing THT and Caruso, using the MLE, and paying Buddy Hield would result in $180 million in salary, $160 million in tax, and $340 million total payroll. Realistically, that’s way too much to pay in salary and taxes. The Lakers will have to chose between paying for a prodigious shooter like Buddy Hield or trustworthy role players like THT, Caruso, and a player for the MLE.

If the Lakers were to fill out the rest of their roster with minimum salary players, they would have $145.1 million in salaries and $13.7 million in taxes for a total payroll of $158.8 million, which would already exceed many teams. Adding Hield would cost $166.2 in salaries, $83.5 million in taxes, for a payroll of $249.7 million. Adding THT. Caruso, and MLE would cost $160.0 million in salaries and $57.8 million in taxes for a payroll of $217.8 million.

Ultimately, the Lakers may be forced to choose between adding a needed lethal shooter like Buddy Hield to give them the 3-point shooting they need or bringing back Horon-Tucker and Caruso and using the taxpayer MLE.

HOW DO LAKERS LAND RUSS AND BUDDY?

Once the Lakers accept that they have to choose between Hield and the Horton-Tucker, Caruso, and MLE trio of role players, they will have three pathways or options to expand the Westbrook trade to include Buddy.

These three options will depend upon Rob Pelinka and the Lakers being creative in finding teams willing to receive free agents like THT and Caruso in sign-and-trades that will hard cap the receiving team for the rest of season. Talen Horton-Tucker and Alex Caruso are projected to receive offers close to $10 million each so together they bring back $20 million per year in tradeable contracts the Lakers could use to expand the Westbrook trade.

The Lakers’s first option is to convince the Washington Wizards to accept a sign-and-trade for Dennis Schroder in lieu of Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell so the Lakers can send them to the Kings in return for Buddy Hield. The Lakers could offer to replace Kuzma and Harrell with THT and Caruso, two younger players who would be better fits on the the Wizards roster or worth more as trading chips in other deals to upgrade their roster.

The second option is for the Lakers to find a third team without cap space to sign Schroder in free agency but who are willing to sign-and-trade for him. Fortunately, there are a few teams in that situation who need a point guard. The key would be to swap Schroder for a player or pair of players whom the Kings would accept in trade for Hield or whom the Wizards would accept in lieu of Kuzma and Harrell in the deal for Russell Westbrook.

The Lakers’ third option is to find a team who’s interested in sign-and-trading for Horton-Tucker and Caruso and willing to give the Lakers one or two players they could flip to the Wizards in place of Kuzma and Harrell. This could be the Lakers most likely option to expanding the Westbrook trade to include Hield. Both Horton-Tucker and Caruso should be attractive sign-and-trade pieces for teams looking for defense or a potential future star.

Overall, the Lakers should be able to find a way to use Horton-Tucker and Caruso to expand the Russell Westbrook trade to include Buddy Hield and land both the mercurial playmaker and the lethal 3-point shooter.

Lakers Players Building Championship Confidence Being Stars in Their Roles

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To say the Los Angeles Lakers have had a tough season is a understatement. The short offseason, compressed schedule, and major injuries to superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis and key role players have taken their toll.

Barring the Lakers winning their remaining two games and the Blazers losing their last game against the Nuggets on Sunday, the defending NBA champion Lakers will end the 2021 regular season in 7th place in the West. The NBA introduced a Play-In Tournament this season to determine the 7th and 8th seeds. The winner of the 7th vs. 8th place teams wins 7th seed while the loser plays the winner of 9th vs. 10th place teams for 8th seed.

The playoff path for the 7th seed Lakers to repeat as NBA champions this year is a gauntlet filled with major obstacles and road blocks. In fact, no team below 5th seed has ever won the championship in NBA playoff history. Despite all the injuries and losing 17 of the 29 games since LeBron James was injured in March, the Lakers are suddenly getting healthy and showing promising signs they may be capable of defending their championship.

The most promising signs have been the recent championship caliber play by LeBron’s supporting cast, including Anthony Davis, Andre Drummond, Talen Horton-Tucker, Kyle Kuzma, Alex Caruso, and Wesley Matthews. While championships in the NBA are won by superstars, basketball is still a team game and it’s often role players performing like stars in their roles that ultimately determines which team ends up winning the NBA championship.

So let’s look at the key members of LeBron James’ supporting cast who have performed like stars in their roles over the Lakers’ last few games and what their roles might be in these playoffs helping win the championship.

THE RETURN OF PLAYOFF ANTHONY DAVIS

Considering we don’t know for sure whether LeBron’s high ankle sprain has completely healed or not until he hits the court, Anthony Davis playing at the elite level of last year’s playoffs is the key to a Lakers’ championship.

In the last three games he’s played, Davis has averaged 32.7 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.3 blocks in 41.1 minutes per game, while shooting 45.2% from the field, 33.3% from three, and 78.4% from the line. Those stats compare favorably to last year’s playoff stats: 27.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.4 blocks in 46.6 minutes per game, while shooting 57.1% from the field, 38.3% from three, and 83.2% from the line.

Watching Anthony Davis finally shoot and defend at the same elite level he did during last year’s playoffs gives Lakers fans legitimate hope the purple and gold can still rally and run the gauntlet to repeat as NBA champions.

THE EMERGENCE OF ANDRE DRUMMOND

Signed as a free agent from the buyout market, Andre Drummond has struggled at times to find his role and comfort zone playing with the Lakers during the 19 games he’s played with LA with LeBron and AD injured.

With the return of Anthony Davis, Andre has finally started to figure things out, averaging 18.0 points, 14 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 blocks in 28.6 minutes per game, shooting 62.5% from the field and 50.0% from the line. That is a dramatic improvement over his first 17 games when he averaged just 11.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 0.8 blocks in 24.3 minutes per game while shooting 52.0% from the field and 64.3% from the line.

The important of Drummond finally posting double-doubles like the 17.5 points and 13.5 rebounds per game he averaged for the Cavs this season cannot be overstated. The Lakers suddenly have a playoff starting center.

THE STAR POWER OF TALEN HORTON-TUCKER

After refusing to include Talen Horton-Tucker in a trade for Kyle Lowry, the Lakers finally started to see rewards for their faith in their 20-year old young star as THT has now elevated his play to include late game heroics.

His dramatic rebound and put back after a wild layup miss sealed the Lakers’ clutch win over the Nuggets and his 3-point dagger from the wing over childhood hero Derrick Rose clinched the Lakers’ win over the Knicks. With LeBron James, Dennis Schroder, and Alex Caruso out the last two games, THT has taken over the point and averaged aa 18-point, 10-assists double-double leading the Lakers to big wins over the Suns and Rockets.

With a 12-man rotation heading into the playoffs, Lakers head coach Frank Vogel is going to be challenged to find playing time for many of the role players on his bench but THT has shown he has to be part of that rotation.

MORE CONSISTENCY FROM KYLE KUZMA

More than any other role player on the Lakers, Kyle Kuzma is the team’s jack of all trades with his scoring, rebounding, playmaking, and defense, all of which at times leads to his posting inconsistent stats from game to game.

During his last 2 games, Kuzma has focused primarily on scoring with both James and Davis out, racking up games of 23 and 19 points in wins over the Knicks and Rockets, including a clutch game winning layup over Houston. Kyle averaged a team best 21.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.0 steal, and 0.5 blocks in 32.4 minutes per game over the last 2 games while shooting 58.6% from the field, 45.5% from three, and 50.0% from the line.

Kuzma will be one of the first players off the bench for Frank Vogel in the playoffs and will hopefully continue to provide the Lakers with more consistency from his shooting, rebounding, assisting, and defending.

MORE SCORING PUNCH FROM ALEX CARUSO

Alex Caruso is another Lakers player who’s benefited from having more playing time and responsibility with LeBron James and Anthony Davis out with injuries. Lately, Alex has responded with aggression on offense.

Before reinjuring himself 7 minutes into the last game, Caruso posted back-to-back games where he scored 17 and 18 points in games with Phoenix and Portland, by far his two biggest scoring games in the regular season. Over that 2-game stretch without LeBron and AD, Caruso averaged 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.5 steals in 33.5 minutes per game, while shooting 51.9% from the field, 60% from three, and 50.0% from the line.

While Alex is not a natural scorer, his looking more for his shot has to be another positive to add to his defense first resume. Caruso’s renewed aggressiveness is great news for an offensively challenged Lakers team.

VETERAN CLUTCH PLAY FROM WES MATTHEWS

Relegated to the bench a few weeks back when Frank Vogel tried to narrow his rotation, Wes Matthews displayed his savvy by staying ready and when given his chance showed he was still an elite defender and clutch player.

Wes’ clutch rebound and put back as time ran out enabled the Lakers to tie the Knicks and eventually win the game in overtime and his clutch steal sealed the team’s comeback win over the Rockets without Davis and James. Over the Lakers’ last five games, Matthews has averaged 6.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.4 blocks in 25.0 minutes per game while shooting 40.0% from the field, 38.1% from three, and 66.7% from the line.

The key for Matthews has been his defense, especially against bigger guards and wings. Over the last 5 games, Wes’ 105.6 defensive rating has been the 4th best on the team, often against the opposing team’s best scorers.

Anthony Davis, Andre Drummond, Talen Horton-Tucker, Kyle Kuzma, Alex Caruso, and Wesley Matthews have all been stars in their role as the Lakers have regrouped and learned to win without superstar LeBron James.

With just 2 games left in the regular season, the Lakers are now looking like the juggernaut the rest of the league expected before AD and LeBron fell to injury and the likely 7th seed nobody in the NBA wants to meet in playoffs. The silver lining to playing without Davis for 30+ games and without James for 20+ games is many of the Lakers role players have been able to learn how to make clutch plays and win games without their superstars.

Heading into the playoffs, having role players capable of being stars in their roles may be exactly what the Lakers need to make the long and improbable journey from Play-In Tournament and 7th seed to NBA champions.

5 Things: The Return of the King

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I dare anyone reading this to find a better historical record of two Franchises whom…it doesn’t matter who owns them, who coaches them, who plays for them…it don’t matter, they will find a way to wither away.

5 Things: Lakers scrubs beat Utah scrubs

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The Lakers will take all the wins they can get while AD and LeBron get closer to returning. This is a quantity not quality state of affairs. In terms of how the team fared I would say they acquitted themselves well enough. It took a little luck, a lot of hard work and some clutch play but they got the job done. Still have some mountain left to climb, though.

  1. Dennis Schroder doing a little bit of everything. There have been some real forgettable games from the Laker starting point guard since the superstar duo went out with injuries. This wasn’t one of them. Schroder scored, defended, assisted and pretty much made all the right plays in this gritty win. He was aggressive in terms of looking for his shot (24 attempts, 6 from three) if not incredibly accurate (only 11 made shots, 1 from three). But the fact that he was aggressive made it harder for Utah to set their defense to guard the team. Schroder applied that much pressure. The key for him is keeping his turnovers low and if that means a few less extraneous passes, so be it.
  2. Andre’ Drummond playing big. It could be argued that we should have found a few more FGA for Dre’. He was a solid 10-15 and made 7-8 from the stripe. With no Gobert there was no Godzilla for Kong to fight and so the one man monster destroyed the interior defense that Utah could muster. He pulled down 8 rebounds, dished 3 assists and nabbed 2 steals with a block. The steals both resulted in highlight plays in which he took the ball the length of the court for easy scores. As LRob noted when we first acquired Drummond the man has extremely quick hands for a big man. The other thing he does well is play to his size, nothing more annoying than a true big man who can’t play big. Don’t think we’ll ever say that about Andre’. The man moves little dudes out of his way with legal moves and the only thing I wish he would do more of is finish strong. Fewer hookity-flip shots and more rim-rattling dunks.
  3. Laker front court was aggressive on the offensive glass. Every front court starter had 2+ offensive rebounds and ‘Kieff had a whopping five which helped give us an 11-5 edge in that department. Morris and Drummond were more aggressive on offense than Kuzma was tonight (in the first half Utah did a solid job of forcing Kyle to pass which he did) but they all did solid work rebounding the ball and giving us second chance opportunities or limiting the Jazz to one.
  4. Managing the turnovers. While it certainly started with Dennis Schroder the team in general did a solid job keeping the turnovers to a respectable level, especially against a tough, defensive minded team like Utah. 15 for the game is good, not great, but certainly an improvement over the 20+ turnover games we’d been having of late. Turnovers are a part of the game and this Laker team takes risks with downcourt passes and a lot of interior paint passes. Those have a high turnover potentiality but they’re also a part of what makes this team unique. If those passes find the mark they’re often going to result in open shots and easy buckets. The key is lowering the rate of failure.
  5. The Standings. None of this would have mattered if we had been able to establish a larger cushion in regards to the play-in tournament. If we were still sitting 5 or 6 games out of a play in spot we could cough up more games down the stretch with nary a worry. As it is we’re still just 4 games up on the Mavs (who lost Friday, thanks Julius Randle and the Knickerbockers) so we need to pull a few more wins along with a rabbit or two out of the magic top hat. Sounds like Donovan Mitchell will be out a couple more games and it’s imperative that we capitalize on this opportunity. No tears are shed for teams with injured players, injuries are a part of sport. Just because a team has injuries doesn’t mean they’re going to lay down for you, the Lakers need to learn this once and for all, now, and seize this moment and beat Utah tomorrow night. If they get Conley, Gobert or Favors back it changes nothing. Play harder, compete better and go get that win.

We needed this game a lot more than the Jazz who, even if they fall behind Phoenix in the standings, are situated very well seeding-wise. One way or another, barring some sort of epic collapse they’re playing one of the tourney teams. Not too sure there will be much difference between who ends up being 7 and 8 after the play-in rounds. Could still be any one of 5 or so teams, hard to even come up with a game plan which is an odd advantage to being 3-6 in the seeding game. You know who you’re gonna play but the 1 and 2 seeds need to plan for several different scenarios. Just another odd thing about the NBA, pay it no mind.

Does the Lakers’ Lack of a Third Star Make the ‘Next Man Up’ Impossible?

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Frank Vogel declaring the Lakers’ top ranked defense or deep and talented roster is their third star makes for a great sound bite but the truth is none of the team’s role players have the skillset or mindset to be the ‘ Next Man Up.’

In the end, the Lakers’ opportunity to repeat as champs may fail due to their lack one or more players with star potential willing to accept a lessor role to win a ring but capable of taking their game to another level when needed. Robert Horry, Dennis Rodman, Tony Parker, Andre Iguodala, Rajon Rondo. Players who can step up and play like a star and save the day. Players who become stars given the opportunity. That’s what the Lakers are missing.

Playoff Rondo is now playing for the Clippers. Maybe Kenny will suddenly find his mojo again and we’ll see Playoff KCP or maybe Kuz will wake from his funk and finally deliver the promise he showed early. Maybe. Maybe.

The injuries to LeBron James and Anthony Davis have exposed the Lakers’ Achilles heel, which is they are overly reliant on their two superstars and don’t have any other players on the roster capable of rising to the occasion.

No disrespect but Dennis Schroder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, Alex Caruso, Wesley Matthews, Markieff Morris, Marc Gasol, Talen Horton-Tucker, or Andre Drummond are not potential stars. They’re a collection of flawed role players whose skills and abilities are expanded and magnified playing with LeBron James and Anthony Davis but diminished and limited when forced to play outside their roles.

That was painfully obvious watching the Lakers lose to the Bucks last night. While they might be able to pull out a win here or there against a team like the Cavs or Magic, they have no chance of beating a team with a superstar. Unless one of their role players suddenly transforms into a star or the team miraculously clicks and synergy overpowers reality, the Lakers are headed for 7th or 8th in the West at best and a ticket to the Play-In Tournament.

Dennis Schroder and Montrezl Harrell can create energy and get you points but they’re not what the Lakers need at point guard offensively or center defensively. They’re short term solutions that will move on this summer. Kuzma and Caldwell-Pope were hoped to be long term parts of the puzzle but are looking more and more like trading chips the Lakers will be forced to cash in this summer to solve their problems at point guard and center.

Bench GOAT Caruso and budding star Horton-Tucker will be free agents looking for raises this summer. Both are fan favorites whom the Lakers have rights and are expected to go over the cap to retain on the roster. Then there are Gasol and Mathews, both of whom are older veterans who have struggled to live up expectations but have little value as trading chips and are likely to be odd men out come the stretch run and the playoffs.

The Lakers deep and talented roster is a mirage that disappears without LeBron James and Anthony Davis. There’s simply nobody on the roster who can be counted upon to take his game to the next level with needed.

Jeanie Buss, Rob Pelinka, Frank Vogel, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Laker players to a man still believe they can still win the championship regardless of where they’re seed or who the opposition turns out to be.

The Lakers hoped Andre Drummond might be third star they’ll need should they make it to the NBA Finals and get an opportunity to play the Nets and their Superstar Big Three of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden. Based on what we saw last night against the Bucks, it looks like Drummond won’t be the third star the Lakers were hoping and praying would solve their rim protection and low post scoring woes until LeBron and AD return.

That’s disappointing but not unexpected. The Los Angeles Lakers’ front office apparently believes all the team needs to repeat is for LeBron James and Anthony Davis to be healthy and ready to play in time for the playoffs. The problem is this is not last year in the bubble where the Lakers luckily avoiding playing the Clippers and Bucks, their top two competitors. The Lakers will likely face a playoff quarter of the Suns, Clippers, Jazz, and Nets.

The Lakers had a chance to trade some of their role player depth and talent to add a second tier star like Kyle Lowry or Victor Oladipo to their roster but opted instead to gamble that Andre Drummond could be that third star. While the Lakers bet on Andre Drummond, the Nets added Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge, the Clippers Rajon Rondo and DeMarcus Cousins, the Heat Victor Oladipo and Trevor Ariza, and the Nuggets Aaron Gordon.

The Lakers have one roster spot left and would be smart to be patient and use it on a player who could be a difference maker, who could be that third star they need to run the playoff gauntlet and match up with Brooklyn.