Veteran guard Alex Caruso has frequently played on winning teams over his five NBA seasons, including a rotation role on the 2020 championship squad of the Los Angeles Lakers. He’s currently entering his second season with the Chicago Bulls, who made the 2022 playoffs.
Over that time, Caruso has clearly picked up on a few trends when it comes to success in the league. That’s what makes his comments on “The Old Man & The Three” podcast with NBA veteran JJ Redick so intriguing.
When asked about teams he is most excited to see after the 2022 summer and heading into the 2022-23 season, Caruso responded:
I’m really interested to see some of the Rockets’ guys. Kevin Porter Jr., Jalen Green, Josh Christopher, and then the big man (Alperen Sengun) — I can’t remember his name, but the big foreign kid that was MVP of the Turkish league when he came in last year, and he had a couple highlights.
I feel like they were just so young and immature that they didn’t know what they were doing, and that was fine with the organization. I’m really interested to see if they make the next steps, and understand the game, and see what winning is about. Because they’ve got all the talent in the world.
Alex Caruso on why the Houston Rockets are his favorite young team to watch next season:
“They got all the talent in the world man..”
(via @OldManAndThree ) pic.twitter.com/3kj3MvKCp5
— 𝓝𝔂𝔁 (@NyxRockets) July 15, 2022
On top of those prospects, the Rockets also added three highly touted players in the first round of the 2022 NBA draft in Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, and TyTy Washington. The nucleus of Houston’s core remains quite young, so a dramatic record improvement in 2022-23 doesn’t appear likely, but Caruso’s intrigue is understandable and noteworthy.
Players around the league are starting to take notice of what’s being built in Houston, and that could bode well heading into a 2023 offseason in which the Rockets are poised to have significant salary cap room.
