The Mavs are among the teams listed among the “best fits” for Bulls guard Alex Caruso if he was traded ahead of the NBA’s midseason deadline.
DALLAS — Alex Caruso, averaging 9.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 21 games this season, continues to emerge around the NBA as a valuable trade chip from the Chicago Bulls for teams to monitor ahead of the Feb. 8 deadline.
According to The Athletic, the Dallas Mavericks are among the “best fits” for Caruso, along with the Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Los Angeles Lakers.
Caruso has continued to progress from emerging as a helpful rotational player in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2020 NBA Finals run, proving to be an even more well-rounded talent, while providing tenacious on-ball defensive versatility.
Many consider Caruso to be one of the NBA’s top defensive guards. He wreaks havoc navigating ball screens, often requiring some of the league’s top offensive players to use multiple screens to create an advantage while he fights through and denies switching in late-game moments. At 6-foot-5, he has the size to guard multiple positions while having the instinct to make plays on the ball to force turnovers.
For as valuable of a player Caruso has shown to be on defense, he also provides no shortage of important attributes to an offense as a connective presence. Whether he’s quickly making the right pass, moving without the ball, or screening for teammates, he does the little things to create advantages. However, he continues to improve as a perimeter shooter, converting at 42.7 percent on the season while taking a career-high 3.4 attempts per game.
Any team that acquires Caruso is gaining a lot of complementary impact in one player. However, it comes at a tremendous value, too, given his contract, considering he’s in the third season of a four-year, $37.0 million contract that has him signed through the 2024-25 season on a partially guaranteed salary worth under $10 million.
The Mavs are receiving a strong impact from a complementary talent in Dante Exum amid his NBA return following a two-year stint in the EuroLeague. At 6-foot-6, Exum presents an impactful on-ball defensive option to guard multiple positions, while being a threat to get in the paint with force and has shown increasing willingness to take open 3s. However, if the Mavs pursued Caruso, they could play him alongside either superstar — Luka Doncic or Kyrie Irving — while also being able to slot Exum in the mix on the wing.
While Caruso would help any team, the Mavs face the need to add more size on the perimeter, particularly at the four spot. Could that still be achieved if the necessary value was traded to acquire the Bulls guard? All of the hypotheticals associated with such a trade idea may not matter much for the foreseeable future, since the Bulls remain “reluctant” to trade Caruso anyway.
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