On Sunday, the Oklahoma City Thunder pushed past the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals by a final score of 125-93. It was a contentious series throughout, but the Thunder showed signs of growth and development, and their victory on Sunday was a coming-of-age moment for their young roster.

They will now face the Minnesota Timberwolves, a team that dismissed the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in the first round, in the Western Conference Finals.

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One key factor in Oklahoma City’s triumph over the Nuggets was guard Alex Caruso. He made significant contributions off the bench on both ends of the floor, and in Game 7, he made five of his seven shot attempts to score 11 points, to go along with three assists and three steals, in 26 minutes. That made it the fifth time he scored in double figures in the series, which included a 20-point effort in Game 1.

On Sunday, he was a plus-40, making him the third player to post such a plus-minus figure in a Game 7 and the only player to do so off the bench.

It is also a festering reminder to the Lakers and their fans of the mistake the organization made in 2021 when it didn’t come to terms with him on a new contract.

The one the Lakers let get away

Caruso had been a diamond in the rough that the franchise signed to a two-way contract in 2017. After showing promise during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons, he played a key role in the Lakers winning the NBA championship in 2020.

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But they low-balled him during contract negotiations during the summer of 2021, and he ended up signing with the Chicago Bulls on a four-year, $37 million contract.

That was the summer when the Lakers made the disastrous trade for Russell Westbrook and gave guard Talen Horton-Tucker a three-year, $32 million extension. Perhaps that extension they gave Horton-Tucker, who has amounted to very little since, would’ve been enough to keep Caruso in town.

To be clear, it’s not like Caruso is some mighty All-Star-caliber player, despite what some Lakers fans claimed during the 2019-20 season when he was fourth in All-Star fan voting among Western Conference backcourt players. He’s a solid but inconsistent 3-point shooter, and other than that, he’s very limited offensively.

But he’s an outstanding defender who was named to the All-Defensive first team for the 2022-23 season and the All-Defensive second team last year. At 6-foot-5, he can effectively guard guards of different sizes, and he’s the type of player who will sacrifice his body to go after loose balls and make hustle plays.

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The current iteration of the Lakers badly needs a quality two-way guard who can lock down opposing backcourt players and start alongside Luka Doncic, who seems as if he couldn’t guard a tortoise. Caruso would’ve fit the bill, and even if he wouldn’t have been worthy of being in its starting lineup, he would’ve been a better option than Gabe Vincent, who is a more sporadic outside shooter and cannot effectively guard bigger guards.

If LeBron James is the CEO of the Lakers and Luka Doncic is the executive vice president, Caruso is the type of hard-working, selfless janitor who will always do his best to keep things sparkling clean while doubling as a night watchman. He doesn’t care that he’s the type of man who takes showers after work; he simply takes pride in doing his job to the best of his ability without drawing attention to himself.

Caruso is under contract through the 2028-29 season, so fans shouldn’t hold their breath for a reunion. He’s simply a constant reminder of how the Lakers set themselves back by at least a few years during the summer of 2021.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: The Thunder’s success highlights big mistake Lakers made in 2021