The Chicago Bulls have gone from being one of the best stories in the NBA last season to one of the most disappointing ones this season.
A very public beef has surfaced between Zach LaVine and his teammates.
That coupled with the Bulls being 13-18 through 31 games, good for 11th place in the Eastern Conference, has led many to speculate that they will be sellers – rather than buyers – at the trade deadline.
One player that appears to be garnering a lot of interest around the league is Alex Caruso.
In a recent conversation with NBA insider Sean Deveney, one Eastern Conference exec revealed that Caruso has no shortage of suitors now that the Bulls are imploding.
“The guy to watch is (Alex) Caruso,” he said.
“They have had talks about Coby White but he is going into free agency, and if you trade for him, you’ve got to pay him. No one is ready to take that leap with him. But Caruso has a contract that teams like (two years, $19 million after this season) and he is a good piece on a winning team.
“If we get into mid-January and they have not turned it around, look for a team that sees itself as a contender to make a run for him because he is really only an asset playing a role on a good team.”
Who is interested in adding Caruso to the fold? The Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers seem to be at the top of the list.
“If they can get some draft capital back for Caruso, and maybe a player, that would suit them,” the NBA executive continued.
“Teams like Phoenix or Miami, both would be in a position to make a trade like that. Even the Warriors, they could send out a young guy, a guy like (James) Wiseman to get into win-now mode.
“Philadelphia, same thing, they could offer some of their young guys—Matisse Thybulle, Shake (Milton) and add another guy to make the salaries work. The Lakers certainly would like to have him back if they had the young guys to do it.”
Caruso is the consummate role player. His teammates absolutely love him and opposing squads have immense respect for him.
There is a reason why Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said what he said about the Lakers letting Caruso go last year.
Plus, Caruso has immense swagger off the court. The man’s girlfriend is an absolute stunner.
Given how things ended between Caruso and the Lakers, a reunion seems hard to fathom.
That said – the other four squads seem like very legit suitors.
Tom Brady’s special lady friend is already married. To another athlete, no less. https://t.co/cVBiEkpG5S
— Game 7 (@game7__) December 22, 2022
Based on how things are going in Chicago right now, it feels like a virtual certainty that Caruso will be part of a fire sale.
Where will he ultimately end up when it is all said and done, though?
An answer should emerge in the next few weeks.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
