The Bulls shocked the NBA world Thursday afternoon by trading defensive guard Alex Caruso for guard Josh Giddey. as first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Caruso quickly became a fan favorite in Chicago, winning games for the team down the stretch with incredible defensive plays and clutch shots. Giddey’s star faded in Oklahoma City and this represents a new beginning for him.
Here’s which team fared better in the trade.
Bull Commercial Grade
You have to give the Bulls credit for finally choosing a direction and realizing their team was going nowhere. They will be much worse with the loss of Caruso, who held his defense together.
The Bulls are in desperate need of a restructuring. Getting Giddey, 21, in exchange for Caruso, 30, makes sense from that perspective. But is this really all they could get in return? Reports are still coming in, but this is currently billed as a one-for-one trade, and the Bulls will not receive any draft compensation.
There was a lot of interest in Caruso at last season’s trade deadline. According to CHGO’s Will Gottlieb, those offers came from multiple teams, some of which offered multiple protected first-round picks. One of those picks would have finished in the top 10 of this year’s draft.
Instead of accepting those offers at the time, the Bulls made an ill-fated run to the playoffs, eventually being embarrassed by the Heat in a Play-In elimination game. By holding on to Caruso, they got a significantly worse package today.
Giddey has shown great promise. He is already the best passer in the league and an absolute master at throwing bounce passes through tight windows. He is an original player who needs the right adjustment to be successful, as demonstrated during his time in Oklahoma City.
However, Giddey has obvious flaws. While he has improved as a three-point shooter, he still made just 33.7 percent of his attempts this season and was open most of the time. Opposing centers would defend him and sink to within 15 feet of him, helping the best players.
Giddey is not a good defender either. He was targeted during the playoffs.
One of the biggest red flags in Giddey’s offense is his extremely poor free throw rate. He has never shot more than two per game despite starting all 210 of the Thunder’s regular season games. He too often settles for a mediocre floater instead of making contact.
Despite those weaknesses, Giddey’s vision is special. He’s a good connector who could show more in a bigger role on a new team. He’s a good prospect, but moving Caruso was too high a price to pay.
Perhaps this will be seen better if the selections are reported. For now, this is a disaster for the Bulls.
Grade: D-
Thunder Commercial Grade
This is an absolute steal for the Thunder. Giddey is a talented player, but he clearly didn’t fit this roster. He needs the ball in his hands to be most effective. A year ago it was clear that they needed to move him. He lost his spot in the starting lineup at the end of the team’s second-round series against Dallas.
Giddey was scheduled to become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2025. Instead of paying him that deal, the Thunder were able to sign him to one of the best contracts in the league. Caruso will make just $9.9 million next season.
Caruso will fit the Thunder in every way that Giddey didn’t. Giddey is a below-average defender, while Caruso is the best perimeter defender in the league. His skills increase even more in the playoffs, where his ability to switch from 1 to 4 and play incredible one-on-one defense is even more important.
Caruso is also a much more capable shooter than Giddey, providing room for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams to drive. Caruso shot 40.8 percent of his three-pointers last season. More importantly, he was much more willing to shoot than in previous years. OKC was eliminated by Dallas because of those non-shooters in their lineup that the big men could hide behind. That will no longer be the case.
Caruso brings fantastic intangibles to the team. He is one of the best communicators in the league and a great teacher. DeMar DeRozan compared his basketball acumen to that of a university professorciting him as a spark plug for the team.
What’s even crazier for the Thunder is that they will retain most of their projected $25 million in cap space. by Spotrac. They still have easy paths to continue adding a big name this summer and get even better.
The Thunder were already a sleeping giant before this change. They now have an NBA champion and one of the best veterans in the league to help them advance in the playoffs. This feels like an updated version of the Derrick White trade that pushed the Celtics into championship contenders.
That gives Oklahoma City the first A+ I’ve ever given in a business grade.
Grade: A+