Woj: Thunder Trade Josh Giddey to Bulls for Alex Caruso

[WentzerWuver]

**** I wanted the Nuggets to trade for Caruso

Let me guess....cause Caruso is HIM?

https://youtube.com/shorts/SI7aj6tS-Wo?si=m1ET8seFuThZsBte

[Statlanta]

I think this trade is too late. Either you give up before he got exposed in a playoff series, or you believe he will grow out of being the guy people sag off in playoff games.

Everyone knew his weakness and strengths before the playoffs.

[Chuck Everett]

How does this effect Cason Wallace? Very promising you player but he will lose a lot of mins..


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OKC is trying to win the title. If they have to sacrifice a few minutes for Cason, so be it. However, I don't believe this affects Cason at all. This effects Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins more. Cason is going to be an elite defender. That dude is going to play.

[MrBigShot]

Thunder get a legit impact player for a guy who isn't really a great fit with SGA.

[OkcSinceSGA]

OKC with a huge win here. Now if they can get a physical paint big.. someone like Jafro, they are set for a title.

Allen is soft. I agree with a paint big, but him. Rather have big Val backing up Chet if possible.

Valanciunas would be a tremendous fit there.

Lol no way. Allen is incredibly physical defensively and on the glass. He's also much younger.

[madskillz8]

Giddey is my least favorite "young talent" who is a liability on half court offense. His hype mainly comes from filling the stat sheets with rebounds. Even though I expected OKC to part ways with him instead of giving an extension, I fail to see the trade as a positive one for them.

First of all, they lacked half court play-making and a scorer who can create his own shot. Giddey was helping with the former but Caruso won't tick any of the boxes. Second, they already had enough perimeter defense with Dort, SGA, and Cason Wallace and it is not like there are teams with simultaneously playing more than 2 perimeter threats. Look at Denver, look at Minnesota, even look at Dallas. What is the point of putting a good defender on say DJJ at the expense of offensive talent which they are already lacking.

While Caruso is significantly the better player, IMO his skillset overlaps with existing OKC roster and the move does not address the current weaknesses (other than maybe a bit three point shooting). In addition he's due $20m per year as a 31 yo, with an injury history. I don't know, I guess I just like it as a fan of WC team.

[RunOKC]

Dort, Caruso, SGA and Cason Wallace on the floor at the same time is going to be something to watch on defense

I forgot with how excited the thought made me that we also have JDub, and Chet waiting to swat anything that comes in

Can't wait for November to get here

[Chuck Everett]

Anyone doubting this for OKC is nuts and should be institutionalized. This is a heartbreaking move for any other West team. And is probably only the first domino for OKC. I cannot **** believe this happened.

Going to have to lean into offense to beat the Thunder in the West. They have too many two-way perimeter players now to go against. A healthy Memphis and Golden State maybe can from a sheer bodies perspective, but those top heavy teams with only one or two self-creators are going to have a hell of a time playing against OKC. Houston also has a team that is a few years away from this, but with internal development, could get there.

[Chuck Everett]

Allen is soft. I agree with a paint big, but him. Rather have big Val backing up Chet if possible.

Valanciunas would be a tremendous fit there.

Lol no way. Allen is incredibly physical defensively and on the glass. He's also much younger.

Allen got bullied by Mitchell Robinson and Julius Randle in the playoffs in 2023 and then missed the last 9 games of the 2024 playoffs due to a rib injury. Wouldn't even get a shot to try and give it a go. That dude is soft, there has to be someone more reliable than him available.

[whitehops]

hard to imagine a better trade for a non-star player. teams are so good at matchup hunting now that a defense is only as good as their weakest link. the thunder just added one of the premier perimeter defenders and he's especially good in off-ball situations which is a huge plus when he's playing next to great 1v1 defenders like SGA, wallace and dort. that defense could be absolutely swarming on the perimeter PLUS they have holmgren as a paint protector.

i get the thinking for the bulls and i hope it works out how they imagine with giddey thriving in an environment more suited for his abilities. that's about all i can say on their end.

[shi-woo]

How does this effect Cason Wallace? Very promising you player but he will lose a lot of mins..


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It changes nothing for Cason, who will be the 6th man. AC will take the 25 mins that Giddy was getting. Cason still got 20 mns last year, and could easily steal some time from the almost 6000 minutes Thunder gave to players outside of their Top 6 players last year

[bstein14]

I like that Chicago is finally making rebuilding moves but I feel like they could/should have gotten more. I also think there's a chance they needed to attach Caruso to dump LaVine.

[Wargreymon]

I’m honestly surprised by the results of the poll. I think the Bulls made out like bandits here. They got a 21 year old triple double threat on any given night for a 30 year old expiring elite role player?

[picc]

Anyone doubting this for OKC is nuts and should be institutionalized. This is a heartbreaking move for any other West team. And is probably only the first domino for OKC. I cannot **** believe this happened.

Going to have to lean into offense to beat the Thunder in the West. They have too many two-way perimeter players now to go against. A healthy Memphis and Golden State maybe can from a sheer bodies perspective, but those top heavy teams with only one or two self-creators are going to have a hell of a time playing against OKC. Houston also has a team that is a few years away from this, but with internal development, could get there.

This is Gasol to the Lakers esque. Not that Caruso is near Pau as a player, but the upgrade puts them in the clear drivers seat of the conference. Like i’m legit depressed.

And people are talking about Giddey being underrated? Get the **** out of here. He’s a regular season player who is unplayable in later playoff rounds. He got benched in the damn second round. They traded NOTHING for Alex Caruso. Everyone should be sick, and if they arent, they will be.

If you mentioned Caruso’s age or Giddeys on ball creation, you should be banned from posting because the last 30 years of NBA basketball clearly havent been enough for you to form a rational opinion. Respectfully, and before I calm down.

And they are getting another big from somewhere. That is happening. And Shai and JDub and Chet are all going to be better. And now Caruso is manning the wings with Shai and Dort and can guard 4 positions. **** this. Pau to the Lakers.

[PushDaRock]

hard to imagine a better trade for a non-star player. teams are so good at matchup hunting now that a defense is only as good as their weakest link. the thunder just added one of the premier perimeter defenders and he's especially good in off-ball situations which is a huge plus when he's playing next to great 1v1 defenders like SGA, wallace and dort. that defense could be absolutely swarming on the perimeter PLUS they have holmgren as a paint protector.

i get the thinking for the bulls and i hope it works out how they imagine with giddey thriving in an environment more suited for his abilities. that's about all i can say on their end.

I think people are drastically underrating how good Caruso is defensively. Honestly, you don't get his accolades looking the way he does without being able to actually defend.

[Chuck Everett]

hard to imagine a better trade for a non-star player. teams are so good at matchup hunting now that a defense is only as good as their weakest link. the thunder just added one of the premier perimeter defenders and he's especially good in off-ball situations which is a huge plus when he's playing next to great 1v1 defenders like SGA, wallace and dort. that defense could be absolutely swarming on the perimeter PLUS they have holmgren as a paint protector.

i get the thinking for the bulls and i hope it works out how they imagine with giddey thriving in an environment more suited for his abilities. that's about all i can say on their end.

People always leaves Jalen Williams out of this discussion. The only guys who defended Kyrie better than him in these playoffs were Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White. J-Dub is on his way to becoming an elite defender as well.

[madskillz8]

Not sure why everyone is acting like Giddey is nothing.

He's a young player that doesn't work well within OKC's system.

If Chicago is blowing it up hes a decent piece to have instead of wasting Caruso's talent. This is a good move for both teams.

There will be a thread next season about okc making a mistake giving up on Giddey.

No way. The Thunder received an all-league defender for a guy who is unplayable when it really matters. This is a franchise altering move to show that Presti isn't messing around and OKC can be in the Finals.

But there is always an opportunity costs. They could have replaced Giddey's minutes with a player who is less overlapping with the rest of their roster and actually addressing more glaring weaknesses. Current starting 5 of SGA - Caruso - Dort - JDub - Chet lacks playmaking, shot creating beyond SGA, and rebounding while adding more to their defense which is already really good. This starting five is not a contender IMHO. Of course they can make other trades and I have a gut feeling that they will replace Dort in that lineup.

[Chuck Everett]

This is Gasol to the Lakers esque. Not that Caruso is near Pau as a player, but the upgrade puts them in the clear drivers seat of the conference. Like i’m legit depressed.

And people are talking about Giddey being underrated? Get the **** out of here. He’s a regular season player who is unplayable in later playoff rounds. He got benched in the damn second round. They traded NOTHING for Alex Caruso. Everyone should be sick, and if they arent, they will be.

If you mentioned Caruso’s age or Giddeys on ball creation, you should be banned from posting because the last 30 years of NBA basketball clearly havent been enough for you to form a rational opinion. Respectfully, and before I calm down.

And they are getting another big from somewhere. That is happening. And Shai and JDub and Chet are all going to be better. And now Caruso is manning the wings with Shai and Dort and can guard 4 positions. **** this. Pau to the Lakers.

People like you and I post on this site all season (not just for the playoffs). The Bulls without Caruso are probably in the Atlanta, Washington, Indiana (regular season) tier defensively, absolutely bottom of the league stuff. OKC is already a top-5 defense and they just got rid of their worst defender for an all-league defender. People citing age just for Giddey is just cope. The book is out on him now.

[Chuck Everett]

There will be a thread next season about okc making a mistake giving up on Giddey.

No way. The Thunder received an all-league defender for a guy who is unplayable when it really matters. This is a franchise altering move to show that Presti isn't messing around and OKC can be in the Finals.

But there is always an opportunity costs. They could have replaced Giddey's minutes with a player who is less overlapping with the rest of their roster and actually addressing more glaring weaknesses. Current starting 5 of SGA - Caruso - Dort - JDub - Chet lacks playmaking, shot creating beyond SGA, and rebounding. Not a contender IMHO. Of course they can make other trades and I have a gut feeling that they will replace Dort in that lineup.

The beauty of Caruso is you don't have to start him for him to still be effective. Hell, he might even be better if he only has to play 25 minutes a night and be a menace defensively. You're also playing him with better defenders and not slouches like Vucevic and Derozan. If I'm bringing him off the bench with Cason Wallace and Isaiah Joe, I like my 8-man rotation a lot better than other teams. Only Boston is better.

SGA/J-Dub/Chet/Dort/FA big or trade partner

Bench: Cason/Caruso/Joe/Wiggins/Kenrich/J-Will

[ThunderBolt]

Not sure why everyone is acting like Giddey is nothing.

He's a young player that doesn't work well within OKC's system.

If Chicago is blowing it up hes a decent piece to have instead of wasting Caruso's talent. This is a good move for both teams.

There will be a thread next season about okc making a mistake giving up on Giddey.

No way. The Thunder received an all-league defender for a guy who is unplayable when it really matters. This is a franchise altering move to show that Presti isn't messing around and OKC can be in the Finals.

You give the general board too much credit.