"Parallel import" produced by the Lakers, renewing the contract with a high salary at the age of 21, selling it at a low price at the age of 22, and having no ball to play at the age of 25

Can talent also lie?

In the basketball world, people are always obsessed with talent: those coveted wingspan, jumping and speed, but ignore the value that data cannot reflect, such as basketball IQ, defensive awareness, winner's mentality, etc. It is also based on this that the Lakers will make a decision in 2021 that they will regret for a long time.

In the summer of 2021, due to limited salary space, the Lakers could only choose between Tucker and Caruso. In the end, they gave Tucker the priority to renew the contract, providing the latter with a three-year contract extension of US$32 million. As for Caruso, he only had three years and US$21 million left. He was disappointed and could only choose to leave.

According to the perspective at the time, there was no problem for the Lakers to renew Tucker's contract:

Tucker was the No. 46 pick in 2019. He has a height of 1.93 meters, plus a wingspan of 2.17 meters. He has a thick body. He once shined in the 2020 preseason. Facing the city rival Clippers, Tucker scored 10 points. Don scored 19 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 33 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. With this performance, Tucker entered the rotation and in the 20-21 season, he averaged 10 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game.

Looking back at Caruso, the latter was an undrafted player in 2016. With a height of 1.96 meters and a wingspan of 2.03 meters, his body is relatively thin. He is one of the puzzle pieces for the Lakers to win the championship. In the 20-21 season, he averaged 6.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game.

Although Caruso is slightly better in terms of efficiency, out of considerations for the future, the Lakers believe that Tucker will soon replace or even surpass Caruso. However, what is the reality?

In the 21-22 season, Tucker's playing time has further increased, and more and more problems have been exposed, such as inefficiency, the three-point shooting rate cannot even reach 27%, and the inside finishing is also very bad, completely failing to reflect the advantages in strength and wingspan. On the defensive end, Tucker is indeed active enough. However, due to his low golf IQ, he always got into foul trouble. In addition, as a backcourt organizer, he was never able to understand Vogel's tactical intentions, the ball was slow, his movement was not timely, etc. In the middle of the season, the Lakers still stubbornly believed that Tucker just lacked experience and refused to include him in the negotiations to trade Lowry.

But until the end of the season, Tucker did not change at all. This time, the Lakers gave up and sent him to the Jazz.

Faced with such a rare talent, the people of Salt Lake City are also full of expectations. They gave Tucker great autonomy and a relaxed growth environment. He played 116 times, 31 starts, averaged 9.4 shots per game, and 25.9% usage. The rate is on par with Clarkson and Markkanen, but in return, the average is only 10.7 points per game, and the true shooting percentage is only about 50%. He is one of the most efficient guards in the league, with a real defensive plus-minus of -0.5, ranking fifth from the bottom on the team.

Last summer, Tucker's contract expired and was not renewed by the Jazz. He only received a non-guaranteed contract from the Bulls. His NBA career was in jeopardy. In the critical 24-25 season, Tucker still did not perform as expected and played. Time has dropped sharply, and the offensive and defensive efficiency is still poor. You must know that the free agent market in recent years has not been ideal, especially for guards. It is difficult to get the ideal salary. Hardaway Jr. can also receive a basic salary, not to mention Tucker. To this day, he has not been re-employed.

Looking back at Caruso, he was almost idle for a year due to injuries. However, after recovering from health, Caruso not only returned to his peak, but also evolved into the league's top 3D. He was selected to the All-Defensive Team for 2 consecutive years. Last summer, Caruso was handed over by the Bulls. Yi arrived with the Thunder. Although his three-point shooting rate has never reached the passing line, he has been of great help to the Thunder on the defensive end. Data shows that when he is on the court, the Thunder lose 3.3 points less per 100 possessions. It is also based on his defensive contribution that Caruso received a four-year contract extension of US$81 million.

In the following playoffs, Caruso proved with practical actions why he could get an annual salary of 20 million.

In G1 of the second round, Caruso became the first player in NBA history to have at least 5 steals, 2 blocks, and hit 5 three-pointers in the playoffs;

In G7 of the second round, Caruso broke Ginobili's record with a plus-minus of +40 and became the substitute with the highest plus-minus in a single game in NBA history;

In the finals, Caruso's performance was even stronger, scoring 20+ points twice, helping the Thunder get two key points. Throughout the playoffs, he averaged 9.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.9 steals and 0.5 blocks per game. His three-point shooting rate was as high as 41.1%, which was one of the important puzzle pieces for the Thunder to win the championship.

Talent is important, but in modern basketball, especially role players, defensive intuition, spatial awareness and team-first attitude are the most precious assets.

Sam Presti, the Thunder's president of basketball operations, once pointedly pointed out: "Caruso has all the qualities needed for a winner, and his impact goes far beyond what the data sheet can show."

In the summer of 2025, Caruso held the O'Brien Trophy, flanked by MVP teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

And Tucker, 24, can only practice silently in the training hall in Chicago, waiting for a call that may never come.

So, talent can also lie. What is truly lasting is the value that data cannot reflect.