One becomes the champion, the other can t survive

When the Lakers choose Tucker between Tucker and Caruso in the summer of 2021, they will inevitably have a long comparison. But this comparison ended this summer, because one person became the champion again, while the other person could no longer make it in the NBA.

Thunder's championship journey, Caruso played an important role as the championship puzzle. Compared to last season, the Thunder's lineup actually replaced Gidey with Caruso, but the team's appearance in the playoffs is immediately different.

Caruso, as the defensive gate, fully drives the Thunder's defense and defends the opponent's core in every round of the series. Especially in the tiebreak against the Nuggets in the Western Conference semi-finals, Caruso's front-circling defense against Jokic is just a textbook.

In December last year, the Thunder and Caruso signed a four-year contract renewal of 81 million yuan. This was the first time the Thunder was allowed to renew his contract with Caruso. Such sincerity also touched Caruso, so he spared no effort in the future playoffs and perfectly experienced the role of a veteran + champion puzzle.

After winning the championship, Caruso also held a wedding in the summer, turning the wedding scene into a Thunder team building. In less than a year, Caruso won a big contract, a championship and a perfect wedding, an absolute winner in life.

And the other protagonist was in a bad situation. After signing a three-year, 32 million contract with the Lakers, he was left to the Jazz by the Lakers just one season. In fact, the Lakers could have kept Caruso and Tucker at the same time, but due to salary pressure, they eventually led to a two-choice situation.

The Lakers are given priority to Caruso, but the stingy Lakers are only willing to give this hero who won the championship a three-year contract of 21 million yuan. Caruso's expectation at the time was 30 million yuan, and the two sides failed to reach a consensus. In the end, Caruso and the Bulls reached a four-year, $37 million contract, and the Lakers let Caruso go.

On the second day after Caruso reached an agreement with the Bulls, the Lakers signed a three-year contract of 32 million yuan with Tucker. Even at that time, this was an absolute premium contract, as if they were pissing off with Caruso, and gave Tucker a contract with a higher annual salary than Caruso.

The background was 20-21. When the Lakers were full of wounded soldiers, Tucker seized some opportunities to average 9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, blinding the Lakers' judgment of his true strength.

In the 21-22 season, with more opportunities, Tucker did not advance but retreated, with 41.6% shooting percentage and 26.9% three-point shooting percentage were too eye-catching. Tucker's long wingspan has the potential to be a top defender, but in the end it is just potential.

After the Jazz had been in trouble for two years, Tucker, whose contract expired, was unable to sign a decent contract, and the free market opened for more than two months before he found the next one. Interestingly, the Bulls who lost Caruso gave Tucker a partially guaranteed contract.

Last season, Tucker was pretty good at the Bulls, not a water dispenser. He played 58 games and averaged 6.5 points per game in 12 minutes. But such performance is no longer enough to get him the next contract. The free market has been in operation for more than two months this year, and Tucker has not signed an NBA contract again.

In early September, Tucker knew that his NBA career was about to come to an end, and signed a one-year, $1 million contract with Turkey's giant club Fenerbahce, starting his European League gold hunting career.

After the trade was won by Doncic, Lakers General Manager Pelinka's reputation was greatly reversed. However, old fans still remember how he and Magic Johnson gave Zubac to the Clippers for free. Losing Caruso because of stinginess is also an indelible black spot on his resume.

As for Tucker, he got a 32 million contract because of the mistakes of the Lakers' management. In a sense, he is also an absolute winner in life.