[Woj] Chicago Trades Alex Caruso for Oklahoma Josh Giddey

Brad Stevens just won the MVP so

 

Yeah Giddey will make a difference in pushing for playoffs

 

"unplayably" nice word

 

I agree with you b/c I think people overestimate Giddey's ceiling. Over the years, I keep seeing people think shooting improves. Well, not very often and not very much. Lebron (once in generation type of player) really improved his perimeter shot a lot over his career, but it's still a rarified thing.

Even if they'd pried out one pick, I'd be more okay with the Bulls on this trade. Maybe they just don't trust themselves with draft picks, and that might not be wrong.

 

[Fischer] The Bulls engaged several teams over the past 18 months that were willing to sacrifice first-round draft capital for Caruso, sources said, while Chicago characteristically pushed for unprotected picks and as many as four firsts in some of those conversations.

 

My guess is Giddey was unhappy with his teammates in Okc so he secretly demanded trade. Giddey had off court issues and Chet unfriended Giddey on insta during investigations. Other than that Shai and Giddey just doesnt work on the court together. Giddey was only going to loose value this year

 

Apparently the Bulls have been in pursuit of Giddey for some time now. Seems like this was meant to be either way.

The potential remains for sure but no one is expecting him to magically develop into a 36% 3 point shooter at this point but 30-33% may be something achievable and respectable for a guy with his playmaking prowess.

As you said it may or may not happen but this is definitely, in my eyes, not as one sided as many allude to now.

OKC is for sure a solidified contender++ now with this move. Ugh.

 

I don't put too much stock in the NBA Executive of the Year award. Presti has never won the award but I still think he is the best GM in the league. Congrats to Stevens, though, for winning a chip. Danny Ainge deserves some credit too. It was he who drafted Tatum and Brown, and he who hired Stevens and Mazzulla. I'm sure Celtics fans also appreciate Ainge's contributions to their success this year.

 

I like Caruso but some of you guys are going overboard on him. He's a 20 mpg player that has had more than a few injuries. Top tier defense, but he doesn't provide much offense. Cason Wallace and Isaiah Joe are going to get a lot of minutes at guard there as well.

 

He's shot 33% from 3 over the past 2 years already. I agree that this trade is not extremely one sided, but it's a gamble from the Bulls. They are a directionless team and they need to take a chance on higher upside players.

 

2 yrs is a long time to see if a player has the making to improve his shot and be a good defender. Imagine Ben Simmons but unathletic and a bad defender thats basically Giddey RN. The only times he went off he was being a guarded by midgets like FVV otherwise dude was unplayable in the playoffs. That separates him from other big pgs like Amen Thompson and Dyson Daniels cuz those guys are actually athletic and good defenders.

Ok if he is made into the primary facilitator he can be a triple double threat every night but at what cost? Coby White, Derozan and Zach Lavine arent good defenders and just like Giddey they need the ball in their hands to be effective. So the Bulls 1-3 are all bad defenders and both Derozan and Giddey cant shoot 3s?

The other thing is Giddey is due for an extension either this year or next year when he becomes an RFA..Now the Bulls need to pay him to keep him otherwise they just lose him to another team.

How is this a great trade for Chicago? If they traded Caruso at the deadline they could have gotten a lotto pick for him.

 

You act like Giddey provides any offense. He can pass but so can Coby White now White is back to being a spot up shooter otherwise Giddey is useless.

Caruso: 61.3 TS%, 41% 3 pt
Giddey: 55% TS, 33% 3 pt

Keep in mind Caruso is an elite defender while Giddey is a liability on defense and Caruso has been playing on a bad Bulls team while Giddey is playing on the team with the most spacing.

 

They wanted 4 firsts for Caruso but then settled on freaking Giddey lol. Presti strikes again.

 

Every GM makes mistakes, turning lemons into lemonades is a mark of a great GM.

 

Presti must have some serious blackmail Intel in order to pull these trades off. His motto - You take the deal or you quit in shame.

 

Giddey is 8 years younger. I get it he has flaws but he isn’t a finished product.

 

I never said great, I said it was fair from both ends. I don't foresee the Bulls continuing with their current core, Lavine has been on the market but too injured to return anything of value. Demar might just be traded to the Lakers this offseason or another team willing to give up picks/youth for proven scorers. White is the only one out of those three that have a foreseeable future in Chicago.

How do you know they could have gotten a lotto pick for him? In a sense they received a top 8 pick player for Caruso. Maybe that's as good as they could get and again, they've had their eye on Giddey for quite some time according to Shams' reports.

 

Giddy is an example of why hoping for a guy to develop an outside shot is a risky business.

 

Sam Presti: When we drafted Josh in 2021 he was an essential aspect of our vision for the next iteration of the Thunder. Since then, our team has evolved rapidly and dynamically in ways we could never have anticipated. Therefore, as we began our internal discussions this off-season, it was determined that bringing Josh off the bench next season was our best option to maximize his many talents and deploy our team more efficiently over 48 minutes. As we laid out to Josh how he could lean into his strengths and ultimately optimize our current roster and talent, it was hard to for him to envision, and conversations turned to him inquiring about potential opportunities elsewhere.
Source: NBA.com

 

Alex Caruso is a player we have always highly valued and followed. He is the quintessential Thunder player; he is an exceptional competitor and teammate with a multi-dimensional skillset. His presence and game will help elevate the core of our team as we continue to strive to build a sustainably elite program in Oklahoma City. Alex is a player that began his professional career with the Thunder/Blue and the opportunity to add him was something we felt would truly enhance our team and culture. We could not be more excited to see Alex in Thunder blue (again).”
Source: NBA.com