As we all now know, the Los Angeles Lakers — currently struggling with cohesion, consistent pace, and perimeter defense — opted not to bring back Alex Caruso in free agency for luxury tax reasons.

Caruso wanted a two-year, $20 million deal. The Lakers didn't want to eclipse $7 million annually, which would have added $20-$30 million to their luxury tax bill (depending on what other moves they made). Caruso landed a four-year, $37 million deal with the Chicago Bulls — who torched the Lakers at Staples Center last Monday, led by DeMar DeRozan (38 points), whom the Lakers could have acquired had they been willing to accept a hard-cap.

Two days after their blowout loss to the Bulls, AEG announced a record-setting, 20-year, $700 million naming rights deal with the cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com that will rebrand the Staples Center beginning on Christmas Day.

In Friday's ugly loss to the Boston Celtics (despite the return of LeBron James), the Lakers perimeter defense was once again a collective sieve. The Celtics guards and wings got where ever they wanted and roasted the Lakers' lead defenders for the final three quarters. Dennis Schroder had 21 points, Marcus Smart had 22, Jayson Tatum poured in 37.

Boston shot 50% from the field, outscored the Lakers 56-36 in the paint, and took 38 free throws — mostly stemming from early-possession blow-bys, as the Lakers attempted to go small with Anthony Davis at the 5.

Meanwhile, in Chicago…

Before getting roasted by Tatum, Talen Horton-Tucker, whom the Lakers did bring back, has been a lone bright spot for the Lakers this week, scoring 17, 28, then 25 points in his first three games back. The potential ascension of the 20-year old would certainly lessen the sting of losing Caruso. However, the notion that the Lakers had to choose one over the other is mythical and self-determined. As it happens, Caruso is the precise type of player the Lakers are currently lacking: a glue guy on offense, a full-blown stopper on the wing.

The Crypto.com deal isn't the only lucrative business announcement associated with the Lakers over the past few months. In fact, there have been a handful of deals that should summarily generate hundreds of millions of revenue for the NBA's most glamorous franchise, which was valued at $4.6 billion.

Look: the Lakers just won an NBA championship and clearly know what they're doing on the business side. But, considering their decision to let Caruso go over some money — which directly affects their title hopes — it's worth just running down the list of recent business moves.

Crypto.com Arena

To be clear, that is not $700 million that gets deposited into the Buss Family Trust, and AEG no longer owns a minority stake in the Lakers organization. Still, the Lakers will receive a cut of that money, as the largest generator of revenue among the many occupants of the downtown L.A. venue.

Socios.com

Speaking of crypto (aren't we all these days), the Lakers announced a sponsorship deal with Socios.com, a global blockchain provider that works primarily in the sports and entertainment space.

Socios.com will assist the Lakers with fan engagement initiatives.

G.O.A.T. Fuel

On Nov. 3, the Lakers announced a partnership with G.O.A.T. Fuel, an energy drink co-founded by Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice. According to the press release, the “multi-channel sponsorship will see G.O.A.T. Fuel activate across the Lakers digital landscape via social media & website integration and visibility on the Lakers mobile app, in addition to retail sweepstakes promotions, brick-and-mortor pass through rights and in-arena corner board LED signage.” Financial terms were not disclosed.

 

Bibigo

In September, the Lakers announced a multi-year global partnership and jersey-patch deal with South Korean food brand Bibigo with a ceremony attended by Jeanie Buss, Rob Pelinka, and Frank Vogel (among others).

Bibigo is owned and operated by CJ CheilJedang, a multi-national conglomerate (notice the hole signs at the CJ Cup PGA Tour event in Las Vegas.)

The deal with Bibigo is reportedly worth at least $100 million.

DWS

The Lakers continued their efforts to expand their brand around the globe by striking a deal to make DWS Group — a German asset-management firm with $1.1 trillion in assets — their official Global Investment Sponsor.

DWS' name and brand will be featured on Lakers' digital channels and certain marketing campaigns. DWS will spearhead the Lakers' outreach in growth markets in Europe and Asia.

 

I know things are more complicated than this — and it's not my money — but with each significant announcement of a new business partnership, I can't help but think about how relatively trivial it seems that the Lakers — operating within the final two years of LeBron James' contract and championship window — let an elite 27-year old role player (and homegrown fan favorite) go to save on some luxury tax expenses. Just saying.