The Los Angeles Clippers need to inject new life into their aging roster.
During their six-game series defeat against the Dallas Mavericks, it was evident that even this group's role players were unreliable and offered little future upside. Outside of Norman Powell's dynamic scoring, the collection of Amir Coffey, Terance Mann, and Mason Plumlee is easily expendable. Even Russell Westbrook, who was carving out an excellent role for himself as a high-energy slasher off the bench, folded as the season went along.
Change is needed, and a culture shift is necessary. The priority should be building a team around Kawhi's gritty, no-nonsense playstyle. Having the team superstar embody the next era is the tone-setter this franchise requires. The best place to start is getting tenacious defenders with perimeter scoring. According to Bleacher Report's Dan Favale, pursuing Bulls' guard Alex Caruso would be the ideal starting point.
"The Clippers need the hellacious defense Caruso provides—his relentless ball pressure, his screen navigation, his ability to guard up, the whole nine," Favale said. "LA ranked 24th in points allowed per possession after the All-Star break and fared poorly in transition basically all year. Caruso brings a tenacity capable of alleviating that curve and improving the entire team—all without needing a prescribed number of touches at the offensive end."
The Clippers desperatly need someone like Alex Caruso
Alex Caruso is quite familiar with Tinseltown. After going undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2016, he eventually made the Lakers roster. He was a valuable role player and was pivotal in their 2020 Bubble Championship.
Since ditching the purple-and-gold, the seventh-year veteran has only added to his lockdown moniker. Caruso has made consecutive all-defensive teams and is atop the conversation of the best ball-hounding guards in the league. He's relentless at the point of attack, often taking assignments far above his weight class because he can generate deflections and lose balls.
He can stretch the floor on the other end, as he's a career 38% from a distance. His improved slashing ability this past year netted him his highest-scoring season as a pro. Caruso isn't a guy to run the offense through, but he makes the right plays and is far from a total liability.
The Clippers would ideally pair Caruso with a high-end playmaking point guard to offset his weaknesses. He isn't someone to mortgage the entire future for, but he is the perfect complementary asset that elevates this squad.