Brent Zwerneman: Texas A&M just recognized NBA champ and Laker Alex Caruso, Aggie and A&M Consolidated Tiger, following score. He’s here at Kyle Field getting wet with about 25,000 other fans.
Alex Caruso Rumors
All NBA Players
Position: G
Born: 02/28/94
Height: 6-5 / 1.96
Weight:186 lbs. / 84.4 kg.
Salary: $2,750,000
Born: 02/28/94
Height: 6-5 / 1.96
Weight:186 lbs. / 84.4 kg.
Salary: $2,750,000
RW: What player, if any, on this Lakers championship team reminds you of yourself? Derek Fisher: That’s a good question. Probably Alex Caruso. I think a guy that doesn’t do a lot of things that always jump off the stat sheet, but has become so valuable to the team for what he does. I think of guys like KCP (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope), that again the nights where maybe he doesn’t shoot it as well or fans have a lot to say about whether KCP is this or that, but he’s proven himself to be a guy that brings a lot of value to the Lakers. He had a really good playoff run and Finals run. Those are the two guys that kind of come to mind in terms of their role and what they were able to help the team get accomplished based on who they are.
But even Caruso wasn’t completely sure the Lakers would be able to flip the switch once the playoffs started. In an appearance on “The Old Man and the Three” podcast with JJ Redick and Tommy Alter, Caruso admitted to some anxiety about whether the Lakers would turn it on in the playoffs: “After we won the first game against the Clippers in the bubble, I think the human nature of, ‘Alright, we locked up the No. 1 seed, we’re going to rest some guys, we’re going to make sure we’re all healthy going in.’ But for me, I’m a play every game, play every minute the same way kind of guy. For me, on the inside, I was having some anxiety. I was just like, ‘Come on guys. Can we get it going?’ I remember having that conversation with myself. I was like, ‘I hope we can turn it on.’”
But Caruso also knew who he had on his team and never to doubt them, even as the Lakers experienced some hiccups in their playoff run: “Then I was like, ‘I’m not going to bet against the No. 23 on my team to be ready to go.’ There was a little bit — on my part, at least — a little hesitation like, ‘Are we going to be ready to play?’ I think you even saw that when we came out a little flat against the Blazers in our first game. … Same thing with Houston. We had a couple days off as the other teams finished their series. … It was an interesting dynamic. Just to go back and forth with myself like, ‘I know we’re a good team and we can get this done, but when are we going to start the engine?’ Game by game we kept getting better and better and better throughout the playoffs.”
Alex Caruso also said after going undrafted “he was close to signing with a team in Germany, before OKC called him to invite him to their summer league team”
Mike Penberthy: Caruso, LeBron and A.D. always want him in the game because they know he can handle the ball. They know he can shoot the three. They know he’ll guard. They know he won’t make stupid mistakes. They know he likes to push the ball in transition. He fits alongside those two guys’ strengths as well, so that’s a big part of why Alex Caruso is so coveted around the NBA as well. Every time we wanted to do a trade in the offseason or before the trade deadline, every team wanted Alex Caruso. He’s known throughout the league and respected throughout the league. I think his basketball I.Q. is really high. His NBA skill set is very high. He’s an above-average athlete and he’s an excellent defender. That’s what makes him so good.
