Recent remarks on Alex Caruso will get Thunder fans hyped for guard's debut season

This summer, the OKC Thunder clearly zeroed in on adopting a win-now mindset as they made the bold decision to part with recent lottery-selected floor general, Josh Giddey via trade that landed the franchise veteran wing, Alex Caruso from the Chicago Bulls.

Throughout his seven-year professional career, the 30-year-old has established himself as one of the game's best two-way role players and has served as a major rotational contributor during several deep playoff runs during his time in the association.

These last three years, Caruso called the Windy City home and managed to reach new heights in his career by being named to consecutive All-Defensive teams and finished within the top 11 in Defensive Player of the Year voting twice while posting impressive averages of 7.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.6 steals, and just shy of a block on 38.2 percent shooting along the way.

While these efforts have obviously endeared him to the faithful followers of each franchise he's suited up for thus far, what's more noteworthy is the well-documented imprints he's managed to leave on some of his star teammates during his tenures.

Just recently, during an appearance on Podcast P with Paul George, Caruso's former Bulls running mate, DeMar DeRozan heaped praise upon the veteran wing and even went as far as to label him one of the three-best teammates he's ever had the pleasure to play with throughout his illustrious career.

DeMarDeRozan calls Thunder wing Alex Caruso 'my top three' teammate

“One thing I really appreciate about my time in Chicago was definitely my teammates," DeRozan said. "I gotta put this out here. Caruso is probably my top three favorite teammates of all time. I love that dude, man. I love AC, man. He knows how I greet him every time. That's my dog.”

The new Thunder stud has frequently been praised by established stars that he's played alongside over the years, with guys like former Lakers teammate, Anthony Davis previously going on record to state that "he was a big part of what we did here," in reference to Los Angeles' 2020 NBA Championship run.

Reports from the past even revealed that LeBron James himself "badly" wanted Caruso to re-sign with the organization during the summer of 2021 before agreeing to terms on a $37 million deal with Chicago.

Now with the Thunder, the 3-and-D savant will once again find himself suiting up alongside a top-tier NBA superstar in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as he and the rest of OKC's supporting cast look to improve upon their awe-inspiring 57-win campaign and thrust themselves into ultimate glory by taking home the Larry O'Brien Trophy in 2024-25.

To Caruso, his fit on the roster seems to be a "perfect marriage" and, hopefully, he can have a similar impact on SGA and company as he's had with guys like LeBron, AD, and, most recently, DeMar DeRozan.