Magic Johnson tried to steer the Los Angeles Lakers away from a costly decision, and now he’s making it known they didn’t listen.
Since winning the 2020 NBA title, the Lakers have failed to return to the Finals, and Johnson believes one major misstep was letting go of a guard he personally advised the front office to keep — one who’s now thriving with a rival Western Conference contender.
Magic Johnson Wanted the Lakers To Keep Alex Caruso on Their Roster
Letting go of Alex Caruso might just be one of the biggest mistakes that the Lakers have made in recent times. Although the team managed to win an NBA championship thanks to his unique skill and expertise, the Lakers were unwilling to match an offer made by the Chicago Bulls for the veteran guard and ended up letting him walk away.
Since then, Caruso has established himself as one of the top defensive-oriented guards in the league. After a short stint with the Bulls, Caruso signed a four-year contract worth $81,096,960 with the OKC Thunder. At the time, many wondered if the organization had made the right decision by investing a significant amount of money in Caruso.
However, their success this postseason reveals that the Thunder made the right decision. Moreover, watching Caruso put up impressive performances for the Thunder in the postseason might just be why the Lakers likely regret the decision to pay him and retain the NBA star on their roster. Johnson certainly seemed to think so when he guested on ESPN’s “First Take” and made it clear that his stance was against the Lakers moving on from Caruso.
“The thing that hurt the Lakers the most was losing KCP, and then we’re watching the other guy for Oklahoma City right now in Caruso.” Johnson said. “They were our best on-ball defenders, and I told them that. I said listen, you can’t if you’re going to lose KCP because he signed for more money, but you gotta keep Caruso. But they signed Talen Horton to that nine million dollars instead of giving it to Caruso and that came back to bite the Lakers.”
“So who’s gonna play defense for the Lakers…” Johnson continued. “They gotta get an offense that moves everybody. Instead of Luka dominating the ball, hey you can dominate some but then LeBron James gotta have it…So some decisions got to be made right here.”
Johnson’s frustration underscores what many in L.A. now view as a pivotal misstep: letting a defensive anchor like Alex Caruso walk. As Johnson pointed out, the Lakers still lack a cohesive two-way identity, especially with ball-dominant stars like Dončić and James needing better support around them.
James himself once called Caruso a “Swiss Army knife,” praising his versatility and impact. But instead of building around that foundation, the Lakers chose a different path — one that’s left them watching from home while Caruso helps power the Thunder’s deep playoff run.
