Bulls trade Alex Caruso to OKC for Josh Giddey

[DropStep]

So, if we take it as more or less true that Giddey was a buy-low after his most recent season, AK has liked him for a while and decided that's his guy, AK's future may now be as inextricably linked to Giddey as any other move, and Giddey is going to have the ball in his hands and be set up to succeed here in every way the Bulls can think of... then, is it the right move for AK to actually double down on on the bet (since he may sink or swim with Giddey anyway) and sign him to a long term extension soon, before his value (hopefully) goes up?

I would admire that move, actually - showing the courage of his convictions, showing faith in a guy who maybe could use some confidence, and making it clear to the locker room that Giddey is going to be a major piece. He would kind of be calling his shot, like Babe Ruth. It may work and it may not work, but it raises the ceiling of the move quite a bit to have him locked down long term on what hopefully may turn out to be a bargain contract, and for AK the floor may already be exile, anyway. (Or, well on his way out the door, at least.) Maybe he should bet big. It would be kind of nice for the Bulls to try to be ballsy and proactive again, even though it didn't work out so well last time (Vuc/Lonzo).

He can try, but Giddey might not want to sign a contract extension right now. It makes more sense for him to wait. At least that's my two cents.

Welp, he may (or may not) be trying to do just this. 5 years at 20 per? I would be totally down for this.

Read on Twitter

[Dan Z]

Shooters:

Coby
Ayo
Zach
Patrick

The Bulls jump shooting woes are really overstated IMO. Our problem is a lack of creation of good bucket opportunities. Not enough layups, dunks, foul shots, open 3s, etc.

Patrick isn't a high volume shooter, so I'm not sure how great he really is at it. Coby is streaky and Zach is on his way out. Having said that I agree with you that it's overstated.

The issues with the Bulls shooting is that DDR doesn't take three's very often and Vucevic shoots them at a low percentage.

Bingo. Vuc and DDR are killing our offense without 3s. Giddey will fix that. I think Pat will see a big increase in 3s and Coby and Ayo will see a slight bump.

His passing should help with that, but what about his own shooting? Hopefully Giddey improves in that regard.

[Bullflip]

So, if we take it as more or less true that Giddey was a buy-low after his most recent season, AK has liked him for a while and decided that's his guy, AK's future may now be as inextricably linked to Giddey as any other move, and Giddey is going to have the ball in his hands and be set up to succeed here in every way the Bulls can think of... then, is it the right move for AK to actually double down on on the bet (since he may sink or swim with Giddey anyway) and sign him to a long term extension soon, before his value (hopefully) goes up?

I would admire that move, actually - showing the courage of his convictions, showing faith in a guy who maybe could use some confidence, and making it clear to the locker room that Giddey is going to be a major piece. He would kind of be calling his shot, like Babe Ruth. It may work and it may not work, but it raises the ceiling of the move quite a bit to have him locked down long term on what hopefully may turn out to be a bargain contract, and for AK the floor may already be exile, anyway. (Or, well on his way out the door, at least.) Maybe he should bet big. It would be kind of nice for the Bulls to try to be ballsy and proactive again, even though it didn't work out so well last time (Vuc/Lonzo).

He can try, but Giddey might not want to sign a contract extension right now. It makes more sense for him to wait. At least that's my two cents.

Welp, he may (or may not) be trying. 20 per? I would be totally down for this.

Read on Twitter

If it is for 20 mil a year for 5 years, yes the Bulls should do that deal right away. Give Giddey the keys to run the offense. Having an oversized PG gives them many options in team building

[Dan Z]

So, if we take it as more or less true that Giddey was a buy-low after his most recent season, AK has liked him for a while and decided that's his guy, AK's future may now be as inextricably linked to Giddey as any other move, and Giddey is going to have the ball in his hands and be set up to succeed here in every way the Bulls can think of... then, is it the right move for AK to actually double down on on the bet (since he may sink or swim with Giddey anyway) and sign him to a long term extension soon, before his value (hopefully) goes up?

I would admire that move, actually - showing the courage of his convictions, showing faith in a guy who maybe could use some confidence, and making it clear to the locker room that Giddey is going to be a major piece. He would kind of be calling his shot, like Babe Ruth. It may work and it may not work, but it raises the ceiling of the move quite a bit to have him locked down long term on what hopefully may turn out to be a bargain contract, and for AK the floor may already be exile, anyway. (Or, well on his way out the door, at least.) Maybe he should bet big. It would be kind of nice for the Bulls to try to be ballsy and proactive again, even though it didn't work out so well last time (Vuc/Lonzo).

He can try, but Giddey might not want to sign a contract extension right now. It makes more sense for him to wait. At least that's my two cents.

Welp, he may (or may not) be trying. 20 per? I would be totally down for this.

Read on Twitter

With the way NBA contracts are these days I'd be surprised if he signed that extension. Scottie Barnes just signed a five year deal worth up to $270 million (54 million a year).

[drosestruts]

They know they're interviewing a 21 year old player and not a new front-office hire or a new coach right?

These questions sucked. I partially blame AK/ME and Billy for not being more regularly available to the media.

K.C. finally snuck in a good question at the end about his impressions of the Bulls team/players from times they played.

It was interesting to hear Giddey comment on playing at the UC is always a fun experience because it's sold out every night.

Something that often gets mocked here, but I suppose when these guys are traveling to every arena every season they're taking some note of where is fun to play and where probably isn't

[DropStep]

He can try, but Giddey might not want to sign a contract extension right now. It makes more sense for him to wait. At least that's my two cents.

Welp, he may (or may not) be trying. 20 per? I would be totally down for this.

Read on Twitter

With the way NBA contracts are these days I'd be surprised if he signed that extension. Scottie Barnes just signed a five year deal worth up to $270 million (54 million a year).

20 would be a huge bargain. He could fail and still merit 20. That will be MLE+ by the time that contract is done. Praying Gottlieb isn't just throwing out numbers.

That said, Barnes was a max extension. Wouldn't be surprised to see something in the middle, trying to avoid the RFA process and catch him before he gets much more expensive.

[dawhizz]

So, if we take it as more or less true that Giddey was a buy-low after his most recent season, AK has liked him for a while and decided that's his guy, AK's future may now be as inextricably linked to Giddey as any other move, and Giddey is going to have the ball in his hands and be set up to succeed here in every way the Bulls can think of... then, is it the right move for AK to actually double down on on the bet (since he may sink or swim with Giddey anyway) and sign him to a long term extension soon, before his value (hopefully) goes up?

I would admire that move, actually - showing the courage of his convictions, showing faith in a guy who maybe could use some confidence, and making it clear to the locker room that Giddey is going to be a major piece. He would kind of be calling his shot, like Babe Ruth. It may work and it may not work, but it raises the ceiling of the move quite a bit to have him locked down long term on what hopefully may turn out to be a bargain contract, and for AK the floor may already be exile, anyway. (Or, well on his way out the door, at least.) Maybe he should bet big. It would be kind of nice for the Bulls to try to be ballsy and proactive again, even though it didn't work out so well last time (Vuc/Lonzo).

He can try, but Giddey might not want to sign a contract extension right now. It makes more sense for him to wait. At least that's my two cents.

Welp, he may (or may not) be trying to do just this. 5 years at 20 per? I would be totally down for this.

Read on Twitter

I’d rather use the $ on him than Pat.

[FriedRise]

Yeah we need pure shooters. Guys who teams have to account for at all times and think twice about leaving open... the Bogdanovichs, Grayson Allen, DiVincenzo, MPJ, Lauri.

Ayo had a really good shooting year, but teams were fine giving him open 3s if it means the other guys don't score. Same with Patrick. The % is there, but their volume is just too small to get defenses to adjust.

Coby on a heater was super fun to watch, but he's still far too streaky. There were games where teams were guarding him out by the logo, but when he's cold, it's usually for a long brutal stretch of games. We need him to be a lot more consistent (all while being guarded by the other team's best defender).

Zach is one of the best catch and shoot shooters we have, but on this team and with this coaching staff, more often than not he's gonna be the primary option with the ball in his hands and not the volume shooter we need him to be. On paper, he'd be an excellent fit next to a playmaking guard like Giddey, but in reality, is he (or DeMar) really gonna give up control to a 21 year old?

The rest of the players teams can live with not guarding.

[Chi town]

No way Giddey signs that.

[MrSparkle]

Of all the Bulls young players, Giddy and Coby are the only guys who could sniff an all star team. Considering that we only had one of those guys before, I'd say the trade seems like a win.

I've been surprised by the overall negativity about this trade. Too many fans and media have fallen into a narrative - AK dumb and incompetent. But life is not a neat narrative. AK is about 50/50 or 60/40 on his deals. It just that the misses have been so spectacular. And the injuries catastrophic. This isn't a defend AK post. It's a let's try to be objective post. Bulls Twitter has lost its minds.

Well, IMO the Giddey trade has potential to be another flub. I can see OKC winning the WCFs. Felt like getting an all-defensive guard for a guy who fell out the rotation and didn't want to hit the bench next year, it seemed too easy for OKC. But I can also see why AK jumped on the gamble immediately, as waiting anymore with Caruso could've only gotten worse. Getting a $60M+ extension would've been a team-building nightmare, with little choices but to then trade higher salaries down the line as Ayo/Coby also stare down their negotiations.

My main fear is that Giddey will shoot worse in Chicago, while Caruso might continue his late prime emergence (ala Korver/Atlanta). I don't think ASG is out of question for AC, if he shoots 40% from 3 on another year, gets All-Def. honors again on a top-3 seed. So from that angle, you might look at the trade the next 2 years and see that OKC "won", again.

For Josh... Bigger market, more pressure (3P% ), and defensive sieves get their souls torn out by the Chicago media and fans. But if he finds his groove as a playmaker and makes the team fun to watch (who doesn't love a nice pass), it'll be more than worth it. I can see why there was reluctance to trade more into this draft, as the median bench/role-player ceiling seems high in these guys. Whatever reservations I have about Giddey, I'd have all day with Knecht (D & handles/on-ball pressure), Dillingham (size), Castle (3P%), Edey (D & range), etc.

But my beef with the trade... seems like every trade (and draft pick), AK is giving up a little bit leverage based on market value/optics on things that probably could've been negotiated in. Even something like taking Aminu in the Vuc trade, or the pick protections in the Demar trade. I don't like how they go from top-10, to the next 2y dropping top-8. The very concerning thing is we are set up to deliver an 11-12 pick next year, or 9-14 the following 2. Compare that to Portland's top-14 protection for 6 F'ing years. At a certain point, everything's adding up. You couldn't squeeze a pair of 2nds out of Presti?

For a guy walking in FA from a team with zero interest in resigning him (Spurs), I understand you had to pay something for the luxury of taking Demar, but we ended up overpaying in terms of leverage. It's complicated to explain, because IMO we "won" the deal from the aspect of having All-NBA/2x ASG Demar... but ... we gave Spurs more leverage, getting another FRP for Thad (inconsequential #20/Branham, but still).

And then drafting far higher on the board than mocked (Patrick, Terry), without trading down. You hope the same thing doesn't happen tomorrow. Winning GMs win every margin. Ainge wanted Tatum at #1, but he got Tatum and another pick for Fultz. Feel like AK would've taken his guy #1 and called it a day (uh, Lonzo?).

Anyway, I'm glad the Giddey trade has been blasted. Rock-bottom expectations are maybe a good thing for the Bulls, these days. They do have a potential for a lucky resurgence, if everything works out. So far, he's made it harder for himself to benefit from NBA luck.

I agree with you about AK and picks that have been involved in his trades. I'll add that when he made the move for Vucevic that he should've protected the first pick just in case things went south (they did). I've said this before, but I bet both Orlando and Chicago did that trade with the idea that the Bulls would make the playoffs that season. With that in mind, I bet Orlando still does the deal even with better protections.

The Portland trade...that one's odd. AK couldn't get less protections on the pick for Markkanen (even Markkanen before he blew up)?

Yeah. Well, either he was really high on DJJ (2nd time he was pursued), he expected them to keep Dame another year and continue competing (although it was somewhat expected that the treadmill was ending, franchise star trade was looming), or he just didn't value Lauri at all. 6Y of lotto protection is steep (expiring into a 2nd) is just lame. I guess it doesn't help that Portland looks like a total mess. Sometimes rebuilds go smooth; usually jumpstarted by their first pick or pickup (Shai). I honestly can't see anybody on the Blazers today that I'd build around.

We'll see who they draft tomorrow. Clingan or Carter might help them trend towards winning sooner. It seems like their best bet is to trade Jerami, Ayton, Brogdon and Anfernee for more picks, which would make them even worse for the foreseeable future.

[madvillian]

Watching the presser. Dude needs a haircut.

[dougthonus]

Pretty good recap to the presser.

https://www.bleachernation.com/bulls/2024/06/25/josh-giddey-first-bulls/

I think people are going to go nuts for this kid 2 months after the season starts.

[Red8911]

Watching the presser. Dude needs a haircut.

Bulls should hire a barber to cut his and Coby’s hair lol.

[Dan Z]

Well, IMO the Giddey trade has potential to be another flub. I can see OKC winning the WCFs. Felt like getting an all-defensive guard for a guy who fell out the rotation and didn't want to hit the bench next year, it seemed too easy for OKC. But I can also see why AK jumped on the gamble immediately, as waiting anymore with Caruso could've only gotten worse. Getting a $60M+ extension would've been a team-building nightmare, with little choices but to then trade higher salaries down the line as Ayo/Coby also stare down their negotiations.

My main fear is that Giddey will shoot worse in Chicago, while Caruso might continue his late prime emergence (ala Korver/Atlanta). I don't think ASG is out of question for AC, if he shoots 40% from 3 on another year, gets All-Def. honors again on a top-3 seed. So from that angle, you might look at the trade the next 2 years and see that OKC "won", again.

For Josh... Bigger market, more pressure (3P% ), and defensive sieves get their souls torn out by the Chicago media and fans. But if he finds his groove as a playmaker and makes the team fun to watch (who doesn't love a nice pass), it'll be more than worth it. I can see why there was reluctance to trade more into this draft, as the median bench/role-player ceiling seems high in these guys. Whatever reservations I have about Giddey, I'd have all day with Knecht (D & handles/on-ball pressure), Dillingham (size), Castle (3P%), Edey (D & range), etc.

But my beef with the trade... seems like every trade (and draft pick), AK is giving up a little bit leverage based on market value/optics on things that probably could've been negotiated in. Even something like taking Aminu in the Vuc trade, or the pick protections in the Demar trade. I don't like how they go from top-10, to the next 2y dropping top-8. The very concerning thing is we are set up to deliver an 11-12 pick next year, or 9-14 the following 2. Compare that to Portland's top-14 protection for 6 F'ing years. At a certain point, everything's adding up. You couldn't squeeze a pair of 2nds out of Presti?

For a guy walking in FA from a team with zero interest in resigning him (Spurs), I understand you had to pay something for the luxury of taking Demar, but we ended up overpaying in terms of leverage. It's complicated to explain, because IMO we "won" the deal from the aspect of having All-NBA/2x ASG Demar... but ... we gave Spurs more leverage, getting another FRP for Thad (inconsequential #20/Branham, but still).

And then drafting far higher on the board than mocked (Patrick, Terry), without trading down. You hope the same thing doesn't happen tomorrow. Winning GMs win every margin. Ainge wanted Tatum at #1, but he got Tatum and another pick for Fultz. Feel like AK would've taken his guy #1 and called it a day (uh, Lonzo?).

Anyway, I'm glad the Giddey trade has been blasted. Rock-bottom expectations are maybe a good thing for the Bulls, these days. They do have a potential for a lucky resurgence, if everything works out. So far, he's made it harder for himself to benefit from NBA luck.

I agree with you about AK and picks that have been involved in his trades. I'll add that when he made the move for Vucevic that he should've protected the first pick just in case things went south (they did). I've said this before, but I bet both Orlando and Chicago did that trade with the idea that the Bulls would make the playoffs that season. With that in mind, I bet Orlando still does the deal even with better protections.

The Portland trade...that one's odd. AK couldn't get less protections on the pick for Markkanen (even Markkanen before he blew up)?

Yeah. Well, either he was really high on DJJ (2nd time he was pursued), he expected them to keep Dame another year and continue competing (although it was somewhat expected that the treadmill was ending, franchise star trade was looming), or he just didn't value Lauri at all. 6Y of lotto protection is steep (expiring into a 2nd) is just lame. I guess it doesn't help that Portland looks like a total mess. Sometimes rebuilds go smooth; usually jumpstarted by their first pick or pickup (Shai). I honestly can't see anybody on the Blazers today that I'd build around.

We'll see who they draft tomorrow. Clingan or Carter might help them trend towards winning sooner. It seems like their best bet is to trade Jerami, Ayton, Brogdon and Anfernee for more picks, which would make them even worse for the foreseeable future.

DDJ is a role player who is best suited at SF, a position the Bulls didn't need at that time (because of DDR...or was DDR later?). If he's the main piece that he wanted back for Markkanen then that's a poor use of assets (even if it's not today's Markkanen).

As for the pick AK should do better with them. Do you think Presti or Ainge accept those protections? I doubt it.

[CROBulls]

There is no reason for Giddey to sign any kind of deal now. Unless he has Lonzo Ball knees we dont know about I see no reason from his side to agree to it. Giddey can get 20M in offseason without any issues. Rather pay Giddey 20M than Patrick Williams. One of them is actual NBA talent.

[IliketheBullsNBearstoo]

Shooters:

Coby
Ayo
Zach
Patrick

The Bulls jump shooting woes are really overstated IMO. Our problem is a lack of creation of good bucket opportunities. Not enough layups, dunks, foul shots, open 3s, etc.

Well half that list might not be on the team anymore. I agree with what you're saying but we still need more shooting. Can't be satisfied with that list, come on, are we not trying to be the best team? A pure shooter or two would be great, lets not be satisfied with the crap we have been watching.

Who should we bench in order to play another generic "shooter"?

Even if all 3 of Demar, Zach and Patrick are all gone (unlikely), we will almost certainly be getting back at least one perimeter shooter in return. And if we don't, Coby and Ayo will start at guard with Giddey at the 3. At C, we'll either have Vuc or likely a guy who doesn't really shoot threes. That leaves the 4. IMO, if Zach and Demar are both gone, Patrick is highly likely to return, which gives us our shooter at the 4. And I haven't mentioned Jevon Carter, Ball, Bitim etc.

Generic "shooting" isn't even on my radar of stuff we really meed right now. Playmaking (Giddey) and size/athleticism is much more pressing IMO. Though trades can change things quick in any way.

I don't want a generic shooter. I want good role players that can actually make shots consistently. Are you really arguing with me because I want more shooters around Giddey? You really believe we have enough good shooting? I'm actually surprised someone would think that but that's fine, we can disagree.

[chitownsports4ever]

Shooters:

Coby
Ayo
Zach
Patrick

The Bulls jump shooting woes are really overstated IMO. Our problem is a lack of creation of good bucket opportunities. Not enough layups, dunks, foul shots, open 3s, etc.

Patrick isn't a high volume shooter, so I'm not sure how great he really is at it. Coby is streaky and Zach is on his way out. Having said that I agree with you that it's overstated.

The issues with the Bulls shooting is that DDR doesn't take three's very often and Vucevic shoots them at a low percentage.

Bingo. Vuc and DDR are killing our offense without 3s. Giddey will fix that. I think Pat will see a big increase in 3s and Coby and Ayo will see a slight bump.

The threes are not killing the offense the fact that we constantly keep trotting out one of the worst small ball lineups in the history of basketball is the problem .

We are constantly playing 4 smalls but get very few transition baskets because the overall floor games of our smalls are all so one dimensional and duplicate each other. They are not plus rebounders so none of them can crash the glass consistently and start the break the way a Zo plays and the way a Giddey plays. This kills everything because this is the way Billy wants to play because his scheme is based off having guys who stuff the stat sheet and have all around games.

Giddey is a natural rebounder who pushes the pace and can pass and its not about hoping he can develop this style of play its his natural style of play which means the other guards can simply be themselves get out in transition and look to chuck .

[Jcool0]

So, if we take it as more or less true that Giddey was a buy-low after his most recent season, AK has liked him for a while and decided that's his guy, AK's future may now be as inextricably linked to Giddey as any other move, and Giddey is going to have the ball in his hands and be set up to succeed here in every way the Bulls can think of... then, is it the right move for AK to actually double down on on the bet (since he may sink or swim with Giddey anyway) and sign him to a long term extension soon, before his value (hopefully) goes up?

I would admire that move, actually - showing the courage of his convictions, showing faith in a guy who maybe could use some confidence, and making it clear to the locker room that Giddey is going to be a major piece. He would kind of be calling his shot, like Babe Ruth. It may work and it may not work, but it raises the ceiling of the move quite a bit to have him locked down long term on what hopefully may turn out to be a bargain contract, and for AK the floor may already be exile, anyway. (Or, well on his way out the door, at least.) Maybe he should bet big. It would be kind of nice for the Bulls to try to be ballsy and proactive again, even though it didn't work out so well last time (Vuc/Lonzo).

He can try, but Giddey might not want to sign a contract extension right now. It makes more sense for him to wait. At least that's my two cents.

Welp, he may (or may not) be trying to do just this. 5 years at 20 per? I would be totally down for this.

Read on Twitter

lol he is not signing for that. At best the Bulls will get him for 4/100M.

[madvillian]

Watching the presser. Dude needs a haircut.

Bulls should hire a barber to cut his and Coby’s hair lol.

Yea not a fan of the broccoli look, although some black dudes can pull it off I don't think Coby is in that category, his head is too small. Giddey just looks soft imo. He'd be better going with like a faux hawk or something a little more tough.

[Jcool0]

Watching the presser. Dude needs a haircut.

Bulls should hire a barber to cut his and Coby’s hair lol.