The Oklahoma City Thunder and Chicago Bulls have completed the first trade of the new NBA offseason, and it’s sending one of the best role players in the NBA to the Western Conference. The Thunder are acquiring Alex Caruso from the Chicago Bulls for guard Josh Giddey, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Caruso is coming off to back-to-back All-Defense seasons for the Bulls. The 30-year-old is a genius defender with incredible point of attack chops, brilliant awareness as a help defender, and elite communication skills. He also just made a career-best 40.8 percent of his three-pointers on a career-high 4.8 attempts per game with Chicago. He’s entering the final year of his contract.
It’s shocking that the Thunder recouped such great value for Giddey without attaching a draft pick to him. The former No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Giddey was routinely ignored by defenses for his inability to shoot from the perimeter. Giddey hit 33.7 percent of his threes on three attempts per game last season. He’s a good rebounder and a good passer, but it’s an odd fit for a Bulls team that’s already one of the worst shooting teams in the NBA. Giddey is also entering the last season of his rookie contract.
Giddey was investigated by local police and the NBA for an alleged inappropriate relationship with a minor last season. The minor’s family would not cooperate in the investigation, and ultimately there were no charges or discipline from the league.
Let’s grade this trade for both sides.
Grading the Alex Caruso trade for the Thunder
Caruso is the type of role player who does all the little things teams need to win big in the playoffs. This is an amazing pickup for the Thunder at almost any cost. Getting him for only Giddey and nothing else is highway robbery.
Caruso led the NBA with 3.7 deflections per game last season. His 1.7 steals finished four in the league. He recovered 73 loose balls, which ranked No. 7 in the league. It’s possible that no role player in the NBA makes more hustle plays than Caruso. His combination of effort and intelligence is just about unmatched.
Caruso’s defensive communication is harder to quantify, but it’s extremely evident on tape. He was constantly coaching his teammates on where to be and how to help each other out.
The advanced stats back up his impact: Caruso ranked as the NBA’s fifth best defender by EPM last season with a +3.4 rating. Caruso was the only regular rotation player who finished with a positive net-rating on a 39-win Bulls team last year. When he was on the floor, the Bulls outscored their opponents by 0.3 points per 100 possessions. When he was off the floor, the Bulls were out outscored by 3.2 points per 100.
Caruso’s offense has always been a mixed bag, but his improved willingness and touch from three-point range makes him a viable option for big minutes. He shot the ball more confidently than ever before last season, and it paid off all over the floor. His 61.3 true shooting percentage was a career-high.
Caruso will be an outstanding fit next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams. He’ll be a great mentor for Cason Wallace and the rest of the young Thunder, too. This is a grand slam for Sam Presti given the cost.
Thunder grade: A+
Bulls grade for Josh Giddey trade
Giddey has been productive on a per-game basis for the Thunder at a young age, but there are some fatal flaws in his game that he just hasn’t been able to overcome. When the games got important in the playoffs, Giddey consistently saw his minutes get cut, and even got benched in the last two games of Oklahoma City’s second round loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Giddey has an excellent combination of size (6’8) and passing vision. He hits the glass hard as a rebounder, and has some skill in transition. The problem with Giddey is that he simply doesn’t threaten the defense much as a scorer whether he’s on or off the ball. He’s not just a bad outside shooter — he’s a reluctant one, too. Giddey often turned down open shots last season. Eventually, teams just stopped covering him in the halfcourt.
Giddey also just doesn’t offer much power as a driver. He averaged only 2.2 free throw attempts per-36 minutes last season, a stunningly low number for a tall guard. His lack of speed and strength has always been a handicap, and the lack of improvement in his jump shot has made him almost unplayable in high leverage situations.
The Bulls would have been wise to get off Caruso since he appeared to be the team’s most valuable trade asset. Instead of targeting future draft picks or trying to shed bad salary (hello, Zach LaVine), the Bulls went for a young player who had fallen out of a favor with a great organization. It’s inconceivable the Bulls could do this deal without getting any draft picks back. The allegations against Giddey from last season makes this even harder to stomach.
Giddey has the size and defensive ability to play next to Coby White, but his lack of speed, strength, and shooting will be hard to overcome. He doesn’t turn 22 years old until Oct., but Chicago already has to give him a new contract if they want to retain him beyond this season. The Bulls look like the worst run franchise in the NBA right now.
Grade: F