Over the past decade, the Los Angeles Lakers have had many under-the-radar players on their roster. Most notably, Alex Caruso, who has continuously shown since leaving Los Angeles that he’s one of the better role players in the NBA.
Players like Caruso are arguably more valuable than stars. He can guard one to five and understands what it takes to win at the highest level. For Caruso, he has a new home with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Lakers won’t have an opportunity to add him anytime soon, barring anything drastic happening.
However, those are the type of players the Lakers are looking for, according to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times. According to Woike, players like Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who had an impressive series against the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Minnesota Timberwolves, outside of Game 5.
“Alexander-Walker will be an unrestricted free agent after this season and due for a healthy raise from the $4.3 million he earned this season. He’s exactly the kind of player whom Lakers fans want to see the team chase,” Woike wrote.
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The issue with players like Alexander-Walker and Caruso is that they eventually get paid.
According to Woike, one executive mentioned that the Lakers are attempting to find those types of players before they become what they are.
“Find the man before he becomes the man.”
Of course, this is much easier said than done. Every team in the NBA wants to find elite role players, but they don’t grow on trees.
For the Lakers, it may require them to make a trade or sign a free agent they believe has the potential to become more than what they currently are.
If they can start doing that with some of the star talent, the Lakers should be in a very good position moving forward.
