1. Alex Caruso
This is a no-brainer. Alex Caruso is already making the Los Angeles Lakers look foolish for not re-signing him this past offseason as he is playing really well for the Chicago Bulls thus far. He has continued his elite-level defense in Chicago and is even having a positive offensive impact with the team.
Caruso is shooting 46.7% from beyond the arc while averaging 8.3 points, 3.9 assists and 2.6 steals per game. Laker fans know Caruso for his hustle stats and always being where they needed him on the defensive side of the ball and this year that has translated to steals. Caruso is averaging a whopping 2.6 steals per game and 3.4 steals per 36 minutes.
The worst part about this is that the Lakers could have easily brought Caruso back. Drummond was never going to return to the team because of his experience and KCP had to be included in the trade. Caruso only signed a four-year, $37 million offer that the Lakers decided not to match.
The Lakers owned Bird Rights on Caruso but because of tax bill implications, they decided not to match the deal and instead give a contract to Talen Horton-Tucker. Both guys could have been signed and it is a shallow excuse for a billion-dollar sports franchise.
Caruso would be such a defensive menace on this team and would continue helping the Lakers be one of the best defensive teams in the league.
Instead, the Lakers have regressed to being a mediocre defensive team while Caruso is proving to other NBA fans that he is the real deal.