4 former Lakers who thrived last season and 2 who fell flat
By Jason Reed
There has been a lot of roster turnover on the Los Angeles Lakers in recent years and that has created a lot of former Lakers throughout the league. Both good and bad, the NBA is littered with players who recently donned the purple and gold.
Some of these former players have continued their success in Los Angeles on new teams, which can be a painful reminder for Lakers fans. However, other former players have fallen flat since leaving LA, justifying the team’s decision in moving on.
Let’s dive into the players who stand out the most from the 2022-23 season either for playing really well or for struggling more than expected. And for the sake of the list, we are not including anyone who started the season in LA (as much as we would love to dunk on Patrick Beverley).
Former Lakers player who thrived: Alex Caruso
Let’s get the Alex Caruso talk out of the way first, shall we? We all know that it was a mistake to let Caruso walk during the 2021 offseason and he has reminded the team of that time and time again with the Chicago Bulls.
The 2022-23 season was Caruso’s best with the Bulls thus far as he had his impact all over the floor. Caruso’s signature elite defense was on full display as he was a key part of the Bulls turning their season around and at least making the play-in.
Luckily, Los Angeles has Austin Reaves and that helped cushion the blow of losing Caruso some. That being said, it does not change the fact that Caruso would have been absolutely perfect on this Lakers team and is a great role player.