Russell Westbrook going to the Los Angeles Lakers means a lot of things. First off, LeBron James and Anthony Davis get their third star to help carry them back to title contention. But one underlying effect is that it could mean the end of Alex Caruso's time wearing the Purple & Gold.
Alex Caruso is a free agent this offseason, and with the Lakers paying well over $100 million in salaries to just three players, there's not going to be enough pie for Caruso to get a big enough piece. This comes via report from CBS Sports' Bill Reiter, who spoke at length about what the ramifications of the Russell Westbrook trade.
“I'm told by the source that this could be the end of the Alex Caruso era in Los Angeles. Not everyone in that Lakers organization is as enamored with Caruso as some of the other folks that sit in the stands and cheer him on. With Westbrook there now, he obviously could be superfluous.”
While it remains to be seen if the Lakers ultimately renounce Caruso, they can indeed still opt to keep him if they so desired. But this would come with a brutal tax bill that varies depending on the contract figure, as per ClutchPoints' Michael Corvo.
The Lakers did want to retain free agent guards Alex Caruso and Talen Horton-Tucker, each of whom could fetch $10 million in 2021-22, though it’s unclear — at this moment — how the Westbrook addition affects their interest and ability to doing so (THT is the Klutch client). Los Angeles can exceed the cap to retain both, though not without complications and stiff luxury tax penalties.
Alex Caruso's future with the Lakers remains up in the air, for now.
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