Los Angeles Lakers: Alex Caruso’s 45 days on two-way contract are almost up
With limited time remaining on his two-way contract this season, Alex Caruso played decently in his sporadic playing time with the Los Angeles Lakers, but may not see much of the court the rest of the season.
One of the new wrinkles heading into the 2017-18 NBA regular season was the ability to sign fringe players to two-way contract that allows teams like the Los Angeles Lakers to rotate these young players between the NBA and the G League. This allows franchises to call players up from their G League affiliates if their NBA teams are afflicted with injuries or in need of a rest.
The catch in this new contract situation is that the players on two-way deals are limited to 45 days spent with the NBA affiliate. This includes not only games, but practices, travel days and any single day they are with the NBA team.
This brings us to one of the two Lakers players on a two-way contract in Alex Caruso. The soon-to-be 24-year-old from Texas A&M has been a solid point guard at the end of the rotation, but is running out of days to continue working with the Lakers this season.
According to Basketball-Reference, Caruso has been active for 24 games so far this season, which accounts for over half of his 45-day cap. I went ahead and counted travel days on the long road trip he was active for and ended up with an estimate of roughly 35 days spent with the Los Angeles Lakers.
I could be short or long a day, but either way, there is not much time available for Caruso to spend with the Lakers in the NBA. He’s not a consistent rotation player and has only logged over 20 minutes twice this season, yet has been a fan favorite since being one of the top players from the Lakers’ Summer League championship team in Las Vegas.
On the court, Caruso averages 2.6 points, 1.9 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 12.9 minutes per game. Once again, these numbers are nothing special at all, but he’s always been ready and has done a decent job when called upon for the point guard-needy Lakers, especially with Lonzo Ball missing the better part of two months.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been extremely thin at the lead guard spot all season, but they are perhaps as deep as any point this campaign at the moment. Lonzo should be back shortly after the All-Star break. Isaiah Thomas was acquired and is in line for plenty of playing time.
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Brandon Ingram gaining experience running an offense has been one of the few benefits from the lack of point guards, and he is improving as the year progresses with passing and picking his spots offensively.
Even if Lonzo misses more time or another guard picks up an injury, the Los Angeles Lakers still have Tyler Ennis on the roster, as well as Caruso’s remaining ~10 days with the team. Gary Payton II is also on a two-way contract and has only appeared in four games with the Lakers, playing very well for the G League South Bay Lakers.
I know a piece about a G League point guard that may never carve out a regular role in a NBA rotation isn’t exciting, but I am a fan of players who play hard and are ready to contribute however they’re asked to. Alex Caruso isn’t asked to be a scorer in the NBA, so I suspect checking into one of his G League games will help see how well-rounded his game can be:
This also offered a unique opportunity to see how successful a two-way contract can be in the inaugural season of the rule, and some strategy about how to utilize the 45-day limit.
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I’d consider Caruso a success given he’s arguably the best player on one of the best teams in the G League and competes well when called upon in the NBA.