The NBA offseason is only a couple of days old, but we have a big trade less than a week before the NBA Draft. The Oklahoma City Thunder are acquiring Alex Caruso from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Josh Giddey.
Alex Caruso as the first domino to drop in the Bulls' offseason is very interesting. He was by far the team's best defender and impacted winning the most. Trading the 30-year-old, championship-winning Caruso for a 21-year-old Josh Giddey screams totally new direction in Chicago.
— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) June 20, 2024
This is a massive swing for the Thunder and a pretty interesting long-term play for a Bulls team that probably should find another way of putting together some building blocks. How does this trade grade out? I’m so glad you asked that question. Let’s bust out the red ink and slap a grade on this trade for both teams.
Thunder acquire Alex Caruso
I can’t help but think the Boston Celtics winning the title the way we saw inspired this acquisition by Oklahoma City.
Caruso is one of the best defensive players in the league, regardless of position. He was named first-team All-Defense in 2022-23 and second-team All-Defense this past season. He also won this year’s Hustle Award, which I promise you is a real award even if nobody knows how it’s determined or who has won it in the past.
On top of all that, Caruso can stretch the floor from deep. He made 40.8 percent of his 3-pointers this past season on a career-high 4.7 attempts per game, and he’s a career 38 percent shooter on 2.6 attempts per game. Dramatically increasing his 3-point volume didn’t negatively impact his percentage at all; it proved he’s ready to let it fly more often. That’s the type of player the Celtics threw into their rotation all year long: guys who could defend their tails off on one end and make you pay for a poor defensive rotation on the other. Considering the Thunder already have Luguentz Dort, Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, I think it’s obvious how Boston’s style of play is being replicated. That’s the perfect type of role player for the Thunder to add before they turn their focus to bringing a big man into the mix.
Being able to roll out Dort and Caruso on the perimeter is massive. Saving Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander from defending primary options as much keeps two clutch players even fresher for the end of games. Trying to score against OKC was already difficult, as the Thunder were fourth in defensive rating this past season, but they struggled to contain some of the Dallas Mavericks’ options in the playoffs. Giddey became pretty unplayable in that series, but Caruso won’t be a victim of that type of matchup. He can help the Thunder thrive.
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Caruso is a free agent in 2025, but the Thunder have to feel pretty confident they can keep him around.
Grade: A
Bulls acquire Josh Giddey
The problem with the Bulls’ roster construction is they don’t have a lot of young building blocks. Restricted free agent Patrick Williams is good but hasn’t blossomed the way some hoped he might after being selected fourth in the 2020 draft. He’s also missed significant time in two of his four seasons. Coby White took a big leap this past season at 24 years old, but the Bulls need more young options like him to keep developing. Ayo Dosunmu is a good backup player, and maybe Dalen Terry can turn into something, but Chicago needs some youth.
That’s why the acquisition of 21-year-old Giddey is a pretty good risk-reward type of move. Maybe you’d like to see the Bulls get a bit more for a veteran like Caruso, but Giddey can play. He’s a terrible outside shooter, but he can do most everything else really well. He’s an excellent playmaker, which matters on a team that was one of the lowest assist teams this past season. We’ll see how the future construction of this team looks, but the Bulls need Giddey and Lonzo Ball to be healthy and slinging the ball all over the court.
With Caruso in the last year of his deal, the Bulls are acquiring a young player still developing and who had a large, mostly positive impact on the top seed in the Western Conference. Maybe it signals that they will tear some things down and restart (we still have to see whether they bring back DeMar DeRozan in free agency and what happens with Zach LaVine). Restarting is something the Bulls have struggled to do overall since Derrick Rose’s career was derailed by injuries, but it’s the direction they need to take. With Giddey either agreeing to an extension with Chicago this fall or becoming a restricted free agent next summer, the Bulls can control his time with the organization.
Grade: B
(Photo of Josh Giddey and Coby White: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
Zach Harper is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering the NBA. Zach joined The Athletic after covering the NBA for ESPN.com, CBS Sports and FRS Sports since 2009. He also hosts radio for SiriusXM NBA and SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio. Follow Zach on Twitter @talkhoops
