Oklahoma City’s trade of Alex Caruso was one of the best moves of the NBA offseason: the Thunder added an elite defender who can shoot from three-point range, has championship experience and fits perfectly into their style of play.
The fact that Caruso is being talked about at this level of a player is a major feat. He went undrafted out of Texas A&M, earned a training camp contract with the Thunder his first year, but spent most of that season playing for the Oklahoma City Blue of the G-League (under current Thunder coach Mark Daigneault). The following year, Caruso earned a two-way contract with the Lakers, where his play improved, and he parlayed that opportunity into the career he has now.
What changed? How did he succeed? Caruso created LeBron James and the confidence he gave Caruso in Los Angeles. Here’s what Caruso did. said in an interview with Texasags.com (part of Texas Ags Radio) (Hats off to Hoops Rumors). Caruso was back in College Station for a golf tournament that will kick off his charitable foundation.
“The love of LeBron James gave me confidence. Coming from someone of that stature, someone who is that smart and that talented and that is the face of the NBA, and arguably the greatest of all time, it means a lot. It gave me the confidence to believe that what I was doing was right. It helped me believe that what I was good at could contribute and be a deciding factor in NBA games. All I ever wanted was to be on the court at the end of the game and have a chance to win.”
Caruso joins a team that most experts consider the team to beat in the West. The Thunder were the No. 1 seed in the conference last season, and Caruso and center Isaiah Hartenstien have joined the club. Caruso spoke to those expectations.
“I think the Thunder’s success last year speaks for itself. Being a No. 1 seed in the West is a tough task because of the wealth of talent in the Western Conference. It’s weird now because we added some pieces in the offseason and brought back some young players. Isaiah Harteinstein and I are phenomenal basketball players who can fit in really well with this team. On paper, we do a lot of things that those guys need to do that will help us be successful.”
On paper, the Thunder are the team to beat in the West this season. The challenge is that it is a very tough conference where OKC will be challenged by Dallas, Minnesota, Denver and others (including LeBron and his Lakers). Still, the Thunder are in position to play for a title.
Caruso will play a big role in that process, as well as any serious playoff run they make.
