In this summer's offseason, the Lakers not only traded Kuzma, Pop and Harrell, but also released Caruso, who is known for his defense. Suddenly, the Lakers' outside defense system collapsed. For these mysterious operations of the Lakers, some NBA team executives also said that they did not understand it.
This season, Caruso has played well with the Bulls, averaging 8.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game. He is still the defensive champion of the team's defender line, and his performance is worthy of his annual salary of $8.6 million.
In response, one Western conference executive said: "Caruso may not have super basketball talent, but he has a high IQ in all the small things, and he is a very fierce defender." ”
One Eastern executive said: "The Lakers' decision is confusing, I don't know what they are thinking." ”
In the new season, Tucker has been on leave due to injury, and the defensive problems in the Lakers' backline have begun to appear. After consecutive losses to the Thunder and Blazers, Lakers coach Vogel admitted that the team's defensive resources this year are difficult to deal with agile guards.
In the case of Tucker's injury, the Lakers guard line has a number of players such as Westbrook, Rondo, Bradley, Ellington, Reeves, Munch and so on. But none of these players are really defensive champions. Bradley was a defensive gatekeeper in the Warriors, but he is no longer brave. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been dropped by the Miami Heat, Houston Rockets, and Cut by the Golden State Warriors in just one year.
The loss of Caruso and Pop directly led to a decline in the defensive ability of the team's defender line. The subsequent reinforcements are also all offensive and weak role players, and it is difficult to help the team defensively. This is also one of the main reasons for the Lakers' poor record!