Lakers Assistant Coach: 'Every Team Wanted' Alex Caruso in Trade Talks Last Year

Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Mike Penberthy said Thursday shooting guard Alex Caruso attracted substantial interest from other teams during the 2019 NBA offseason and leading up to the 2020 trade deadline.

Penberthy told Ryan Ward of Lakers Daily that Caruso is a "perfectly fit puzzle piece" playing alongside superstars like LeBron James and Anthony Davis thanks to his "really high" basketball IQ and well-rounded skill set.

"Every time we wanted to do a trade in the offseason or before the trade deadline, every team wanted Alex Caruso," he said. "He's known throughout the league and respected throughout the league."

Caruso's numbers don't jump off the page. He averaged 5.5 points, 1.9 assists, 1.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals while playing just 18.4 minutes across 64 appearances during the 2019-20 regular season. He averaged 6.5 points in 24.3 minutes during the team's run to the 2020 NBA championship.

Yet he ranked 17th among all shooting guards in ESPN's Real Plus-Minus, in large part because of his defense, which rated fifth at the position.

"What makes Alex good, similar to what I did, you have to be a good player alongside superstars," Penberthy told Ward. "You have to be a complementary player and then those guys got to want you on the floor, which was what was great about Shaq and Kobe with me. They always wanted me in the game because I add space."

Penberthy won an NBA title as a player with the Lakers in 2001.

The coaching staff's confidence in Caruso, 26, showed in Game 6 of the Finals against the Heat. He played 33 minutes, a personal playoff high, and Miami scored a series-low 93 points as L.A. clinched the title.

His hard-working play style has garnered him a lot of fans over the past couple years and unexpectedly thrust him into the spotlight, which he discussed with 247Sports:

"It was interesting, just me being on a two-way the last couple of years, the team wasn't playing great in stretches and anytime I came up I usually played with great energy and I usually performed decently well so I think they just kind of latched on to that in a time of missing success for Lakers basketball.

"Then it blossomed into me being a rotation player on the first team in the West that's title-chasing and bringing the Lakers back to prominence, so I think it was just the perfect storm, step-by-step we've just tightened our bond, me and the fans."

Apparently, it's also earned him a lot of fans in front offices around the NBA, too.