Story by
How Alex Caruso's time with Mark Daigneault, OKC Blue paved way return to OKC Thunder
- Story by
- How Alex Caruso's time with Mark Daigneault, OKC Blue paved way return to OKC Thunder
Alex Caruso kept it to himself. The story probably hadn't stuck with Sam Presti as long as it had the 30-year-old guard, the newest member of the Thunder after being traded by the Bulls last week. But as the two sat across from each other for lunch on Monday, it triggered a core memory for Caruso.
Seven years earlier, Caruso was playing with the Thunder's G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue . During a January trip to Sioux Falls that spanned four days, Caruso, his teammates and the staff squeezed into a notably small room with Presti, given an hour and a unique opportunity.
Advertisement
Ask Presti anything.
From that conversation, Caruso learned how he'd stick in the NBA. Be a good teammate and defend multiple positions, he was told. Years later, after stints with two different NBA teams, two All-Defense selections and an NBA championship, the things he learned on that fateful January day defined his path.
The seeds that have sprouted into the current iteration of the Thunder were planted that early, during a season in which Russell Westbrook won MVP. With Caruso, balding then but in the infancy of his NBA dream, influenced by a seemingly meaningless open-floor discussion; with Mark Daigneault , then coach of the Blue and being nurtured for his current role; with Kameron Woods, then a teammate of Caruso's and still a member of the organization today.
More: How did Alex Caruso complete journey from OKC Blue to OKC Thunder? Some 'trial and error'
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso speaks to the press in Oklahoma City, on Monday, June 24, 2024.
On Monday, Caruso glossed over any renovations to the Thunder's campus. The facilities looked the same to him. Things certainly felt the same to him, the components from his pivotal single season in Oklahoma City lingering. Components that eventually brought him back, this time as a proven champion and seamless fit for an ambitious Thunder team.
Advertisement
"A handful of people — two handfuls of people — that were with the Blue or at least in the OKC organization that are still here that have helped me get started and get back to this spot," Caruso said. "Mark, I was smiling ear to ear talking to him on the phone just because I was excited to get to play for him again.
"He told me, 'Don't be a smartass.' I told him I can't wait for him to cuss me out the first practice when I mess something up. So we'll hit the ground running and it'll be great just like it always is."
It hardly felt like any time had been lost. Caruso checked Thunder-y boxes with Thunder-y diction on Monday. He spoke with an authoritative understanding of his role, with a firm grasp of the team, and used the phrase "sweat equity."
Caruso exuded the energy of a player that doesn't just feel suited for the Thunder, but for Daigneault especially. As a disciple of Daigneault from a time when the NBA Coach of the Year was far less recognizable, Caruso has watched as he's shaped the traits he saw then into an identity.
Advertisement
More: NBA mock draft roundup 2024: Who will OKC Thunder pick at No. 12?
"Quiet, very observant," Caruso said of Daigneault. "He's a good leader. He lays out expectations for the team really well. When you have a young team like the Thunder do — like we do — you take those expectations and those guys will run through a wall for a coach that believes in and trusts them."
Caruso has kept up with the organization from afar. He game planned against and defended Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 's change of pace, he saw OKC's meteoric rise. And now, on the inside, he's heard all about the unusually tight-knit, youthful group.
The challenge of embedding himself into such a chronically online core of 20-somethings remains. How he'll bounce his wit and championship experience off the group will matter, but Caruso made the hill sound less steep than it is.
Advertisement
"I'm a good teammate," Caruso said. "I put the others first. I think that's something that goes a long way in this organization. … Just showing up and being there for teammates. Pushing them to levels they didn't know. Hopefully they can push me, too. Iron sharpens iron."
As far as on-court responsibilities go, there was a sense of relief in Caruso's tone. An excitement that expectations will shift.
More: How OKC Thunder's evolution led to Josh Giddey's trade to Chicago Bulls
Perimeter defense has long been Caruso's calling card. The motor that helped him thrive in Los Angeles , the tenacity that saw Chicago embrace him.
Advertisement
With last week's trade, Caruso leaped from mediocrity, from grasping at play-in appearances in Chicago and being understandably burdened as a defender. This week, he bolstered a top-five defense, creating a lineup that appears almost impossible to be picked on as it stands.
He's spent time on YouTube since the deal, watching defenders like Lu Dort and Chet Holmgren at their best, envisioning where he fits in. He knows what Presti and Daigneault might expect of him, but has yet to see the way this young Thunder team might depend on him.
Trending toward contention, the Thunder is merely asking for the player Presti pitched to a room of G Leaguers. The one Caruso set out to become. The seed Presti planted seven years earlier.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder's Alex Caruso used lessons from Blue to pave way
