In the recent episode of The Old Man and the Three podcast, Alex Caruso revealed the real reason why he did not sign back with the Los Angeles Lakers.
This offseason, Caruso signed a $36.9 million USD four-year contract with the Chicago Bulls, however, the guard wanted to confirm that it was not without hesitation. When the deal came in, Caruso went back to the Lakers to give them a chance to keep him for less. At the time, Caruso was willing to stay on the Lakers for $30 million USD over three years. The Lakers refused the offer, which led to Caruso joining the Bulls. Currently, Caruso is a major part of the team’s defense and the Bulls’ 7-3 start. In the interview, he confirmed to J.J. Redick,
“I really didn’t hear much from any team — including the Lakers — leading up to [the start of free agency at] 6 p.m., and then they called, and the Lakers made their offer. It wasn’t an offer I was going to accept because I was going to be able to get considerably more money from another team…
I got on the phone with [Bulls GM Artūras Karnišovas] and with [head coach Billy Donovan], and the way they were just talking about how they wanted to play and how they saw me as a player, I thought they hit the nail on the head. I thought everything they said, I was like ‘I think that’s accurate, I think that’s what I bring to the table, I think that’s how I can help the team win, I think that’s the direction this team wants to go.’ I thought there was a need for the stuff that I had.”
Caruso also revealed that the Lakers’ initial offer was close to two years for $15 million USD. Watch the conversation below.
In other sports news, Scottie Pippen has taken another shot at Michael Jordan for his “Flu Game.”
