Los Angeles Lakers agree to two-way deal with Alex Caruso

The Los Angeles Lakers and point guard Alex Caruso agreed to a two-way deal to keep him with the organization.

The Los Angeles Lakers were very quiet at the onset of free agency. The Lakers met with a few players during the moratorium period but did not agree to any deals with players.

The Lakers were shut out in free agency until this week when things began to pick up. Late Monday, early Tuesday morning, the Lakers agreed to a deal with shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. To sign Caldwell-Pope, the Lakers had to also waive David Nwaba and his non-guaranteed $1.3 million deal.

The Lakers continued to add to their backcourt today. Los Angeles agreed to a two-way deal with point guard Alex Caruso.

The news was first reported by ESPN’s Ramona Shelbourne on her Twitter account.

Caruso has played very well for the Lakers during the Las Vegas Summer League. His play earned him a two-way contract, which means he will spend a majority of the season in the G-League but can be called up to the NBA as well. It is a way for teams to keep and develop young talent without running the risk of losing them to another team.

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It was an excellent decision made by the NBA as they look to expand the G-League. They are trying to make it closer to how Major League Baseball has the minor leagues and it opens up more roster spots. With the new two-way contracts, the NBA now has 17 roster spots instead of 15.

Caruso earned his spot with the Lakers organization. This summer he has played very well, with the game against the Sacramento Kings being his coming out party.

With Lonzo Ball sidelined, Caruso stepped into the starting lineup. The Lakers were also without Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, and Brandon Ingram so someone needed to step up; that person was Caruso.

Caruso scored 18 points, handed out nine assists and added four rebounds, four steals, and one block for good measure. He had a number of highlight plays, including an alley-oop to Travis Wear and a block up against at the rim on Buddy Hield.

The Lakers noticed that and didn’t want to lose Caruso to another team. This is Caruso’s second year in professional basketball. Caruso spent last year with the Oklahoma City Blue in the NBA D-League. He had a solid season with the Blue, averaging 11.9 points on 45.9 percent from the field and 40.1 percent from deep.

Caruso also added 5.2 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game. He gets it done on both ends of the court, which is a positive. The Lakers need players capable of knocking down three-pointers and getting it done defensively; Caruso fits that bill.

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While he may not be a big part of the Lakers this season, it will be nice to see him develop in their system. He is a heady point guard that is developing more since his time at Texas A&M. He is a worthwhile prospect for the Lakers to hold onto and help grow. With how the point guard position looks behind Lonzo Ball, Caruso could have a spot later on in the season.