Any team in the postseason race will need a player like Alex Caruso. He proved in 2019-20 that he could be an essential rotation player on the Lakers' title team and has only grown since then.
In my opinion, he is the best defensive guard in the NBA. He flies around on that edge, doing wild proactive rotations with his active hands, disrupting all exchanges and bothering all potential jumpers. With the ball in his hands, he can adapt to almost any number one to three position, and can also switch to the weaker number four position.
Offensively, Caruso reads the play incredibly quickly while handling the game at an elite level. He understands spacing accurately, can make touch passes in transition and in the half court, and always makes the extra pass to create a great shot. There is no selfishness in his game. He is usually a passive shooter, but this season he has significantly increased the amount of his long-range shots with a career-high conversion rate. To top it off, he signed an incredible contract that will pay him less than $10 million each of the next two seasons.
If the Bulls decide to move Caruso due to their rebuilding needs, a true bidding war could ensue. All candidates should bend over backwards to acquire an elite player like him who is used infrequently but doesn't have the ball in his hands. And his contract is so small that he has enough salary for almost every team in the league to participate.
According to the newspaper, the Bulls have been reluctant to trade Caruso so far. athletic Shams Charania, this is consistent with the impression I received from sources at other teams that I tried to contact.
But Caruso is far more valuable to a contender than he is to a Bulls team. He is 30 years old, has a history of injuries from playing hard, and has been out of action for the Bulls for more than 18 months. Given the price Caruso would cost, to me (and other executives across the league) I understand why the Bulls wouldn't move him, as there is a wide market of teams interested in acquiring Caruso. It's difficult.
Transaction amount: First round picks and prospects.
Best fit: Warriors, Mavericks, Bucks, Pacers, Thunder, Lakers, 76ers, Heat, Timberwolves, Nuggets, Kings, Pelicans, Rockets.
Read the rest of my trade deadline big board here.
