Woj: Thunder Trade Josh Giddey to Bulls for Alex Caruso

[Lo Wang]

When the ball is in his hands, he's averaging 19/7/7 while shooting 54% TS 60%.

He improved his 3 pt% by 10% this year, and is only going to get better.

checks regdate. oh, ok.

Yeah. I mean…Giddey gonna be a primary guy someone builds their team around?

Capping your ceiling real quick there.

They made a bad shooting team even worse.

They don’t have the personnel to take advantage of Giddey’s skills.

The Bulls have a bunch of weak defenders, and just subtracted their best defender and added another weak defender.

Just

I disagree.

They are a legit team with Lonzo, so it just makes sense they are going to be legit again with Giddey. Lonzo didn't have a 3 point shot before he came to the Bulls, so I can see Giddey improving in that area with their shooting staff. They have a really good team (Derozan, Levine, Vucevic, Coby), and the only missing piece is a facilitator. I would even argue Giddey > Lonzo. He's a great fit.

Please educate yourself (this is bad coming from a self proclaim realgm idiot).

https://youtu.be/js7KJdH6QkU?si=LQVCCJ-I9FSjeqv8

Be honest, name another PG that can pass like that in the game today.

[Patches Perry]

The one thing I will say about Giddey is he might be the best inbounds passer in the league. He'd routinely find layups right off the inbounds pass. Even in the playoffs where his lack of shooting and defense made him unplayable, you'd see Daigs bring him in clutch moments just to take the ball out.

I'd love to have him on the roster for cheap just for that singular purpose lol.

[Wingy]

checks regdate. oh, ok.

Yeah. I mean…Giddey gonna be a primary guy someone builds their team around?

Capping your ceiling real quick there.

They made a bad shooting team even worse.

They don’t have the personnel to take advantage of Giddey’s skills.

The Bulls have a bunch of weak defenders, and just subtracted their best defender and added another weak defender.

Just

I disagree.

They are a legit team with Lonzo, so it just makes sense they are going to be legit again with Giddey. Lonzo didn't have a 3 point shot before he came to the Bulls, so I can see Giddey improving in that area with their shooting staff. They have a really good team (Derozan, Levine, Vucevic, Coby), and the only missing piece is a facilitator. I would even argue Giddey > Lonzo. He's a great fit.

Please educate yourself (this is bad coming from a self proclaim realgm idiot).

https://youtu.be/js7KJdH6QkU?si=LQVCCJ-I9FSjeqv8

The fact you think Giddey will fit and raise that heavily flawed team more than healthy Lonzo says it’s not worth having a discussion with you.

You clearly don’t know the Bulls.

[Anderson Hunt]

95% of the time there's a poll like this after a trade realgm gets it wrong. It's uncanny. Caruso is a 30 y/o journeyman role-player. He's overrated as a defender and he's undersized at the 2 where he's forced to play. Does he have value? Absolutely. Guys like him, Josh Hart, and Derrick White are integral parts of winning basketball teams. But Giddey is a 21 y/o legit starting PG. The only reason this trade looks even at all is because SGA needs the ball in his hands and so doesn't Giddey so they don't compliment each other well. If Chicago lets him run the offense you'll see how wrong you are about this trade. "But his defense!!" Yeah, name the starting PG with good defense. Brunson, Maxey, Trae, Luka, Garland, Cade, Fox, and Steph seemed to be able to make it work just fine. And at least Giddey has versatility due to his size so he's not a total zero like most of these other defensively challenged PGs. Great trade for both teams but value wise, the Bulls knocked it out of the park getting a 21 y/o starting PG and former #6 overall draft pick that they have RFA rights to for a 30 y/o role player with a year left on his contract and becomes a UFA.

Agreed. A backcourt of Giddey and White will simply need versatile frontcourt defenders to become exalted. Very much like the Mavericks.

[Lo Wang]

Yeah. I mean…Giddey gonna be a primary guy someone builds their team around?

Capping your ceiling real quick there.

They made a bad shooting team even worse.

They don’t have the personnel to take advantage of Giddey’s skills.

The Bulls have a bunch of weak defenders, and just subtracted their best defender and added another weak defender.

Just

I disagree.

They are a legit team with Lonzo, so it just makes sense they are going to be legit again with Giddey. Lonzo didn't have a 3 point shot before he came to the Bulls, so I can see Giddey improving in that area with their shooting staff. They have a really good team (Derozan, Levine, Vucevic, Coby), and the only missing piece is a facilitator. I would even argue Giddey > Lonzo. He's a great fit.

Please educate yourself (this is bad coming from a self proclaim realgm idiot).

https://youtu.be/js7KJdH6QkU?si=LQVCCJ-I9FSjeqv8

The fact you think Lonzo will be a factor says it’s not worth having a discussion with you.

Really?

I mean I'm an idiot when it comes to basketball, but even I know Lonzo made that team playoff bound finishing 6th in 2021-2022.

That's a huge factor if you ask me, then again what do I know.

P.S. He changed his response after I called him out:

The fact you think Giddey will fit and raise that heavily flawed team more than healthy Lonzo says it’s not worth having a discussion with you.

You clearly don’t know the Bulls.

Bro you're getting owned by an idiot. Why would you change your position AFTER a rebuttal? That just means you agee with me.

[Wingy]

Really?

I mean I'm an idiot when it comes to basketball, but even I know Lonzo made that team playoff bound finishing 6th in 2021-2022.

That's a huge factor if you ask me, then again what do I know.

I misread what you wrote and edited.

Giddey’s an awful fit with the Bulls personnel and severely caps your ceiling as a centerpiece…which he needs to be in order to maximize his numbers.

You don’t build a team to maximize Josh Giddey.

[Slimjimzv]

95% of the time there's a poll like this after a trade realgm gets it wrong. It's uncanny. Caruso is a 30 y/o journeyman role-player. He's overrated as a defender and he's undersized at the 2 where he's forced to play. Does he have value? Absolutely. Guys like him, Josh Hart, and Derrick White are integral parts of winning basketball teams. But Giddey is a 21 y/o legit starting PG. The only reason this trade looks even at all is because SGA needs the ball in his hands and so doesn't Giddey so they don't compliment each other well. If Chicago lets him run the offense you'll see how wrong you are about this trade. "But his defense!!" Yeah, name the starting PG with good defense. Brunson, Maxey, Trae, Luka, Garland, Cade, Fox, and Steph seemed to be able to make it work just fine. And at least Giddey has versatility due to his size so he's not a total zero like most of these other defensively challenged PGs. Great trade for both teams but value wise, the Bulls knocked it out of the park getting a 21 y/o starting PG and former #6 overall draft pick that they have RFA rights to for a 30 y/o role player with a year left on his contract and becomes a UFA.

This post kind of baffles me. Your criticism of Caruso is so weird. Yes, he's 30. Other than that, he's not a journeyman. At 30, he's going to just his 3rd NBA team. He's not overrated as a defender. He's 6'5, so I really don't get the undersized point. If you had said he's injury prone or a weird fit for a team that already has Dort and Wallace, I would 100% agree. But you ran with points that just seem completely wrong instead of taking the easy layups.

TBH, I hope you're right. Giddey is a good kid who works his ass off and has the potential to be really, really good.

[bbms]

giddey is a developmental piece to the bulls. imo he's an uber talented player, he has a tendency to finish the season stronger than he starts them.

i don't see him as a ball dominant guard for the nba level, but i think he can be a high skill connector in the nba's elite. he has business decisions to do regarding to that.

of course, the timetable for the thunder doesn''t match his development curve as they need a push further into championship level performance.

if he really wants to be a doncic like guy that bad for a team, there's a solid chance he's out of this league in a few years. if i were part of his camp i would try to convince him to mold himself more in the role of the boris diaws of this world, grant hill in his phoenix days, etc. if he's greedy, larry bird.

elite teams put the ball in hands of the most explosive scorers, and giddey is very unlikely to become one of them. he needs to be aware of that if he wants a long and prosperous nba career.

[PushDaRock]

checks regdate. oh, ok.

Yeah. I mean…Giddey gonna be a primary guy someone builds their team around?

Capping your ceiling real quick there.

They made a bad shooting team even worse.

They don’t have the personnel to take advantage of Giddey’s skills.

The Bulls have a bunch of weak defenders, and just subtracted their best defender and added another weak defender.

Just

I disagree.

They are a legit team with Lonzo, so it just makes sense they are going to be legit again with Giddey. Lonzo didn't have a 3 point shot before he came to the Bulls, so I can see Giddey improving in that area with their shooting staff. They have a really good team (Derozan, Levine, Vucevic, Coby), and the only missing piece is a facilitator. I would even argue Giddey > Lonzo. He's a great fit.

Please educate yourself (this is bad coming from a self proclaim realgm idiot).

https://youtu.be/js7KJdH6QkU?si=LQVCCJ-I9FSjeqv8

Be honest, name another PG that can pass like that in the game today.

Lonzo could really defend and was already a good 3 point shooter. He was 38% on 3 makes per game in New Orleans, so not sure where you get the idea he couldn't shoot.

Chip Engelland is probably the best shooting coach in the world. If he couldn't fix Giddey's shot, what makes you think The Bulls staff can?

[SSUBluesman]

checks regdate. oh, ok.

Yeah. I mean…Giddey gonna be a primary guy someone builds their team around?

Capping your ceiling real quick there.

They made a bad shooting team even worse.

They don’t have the personnel to take advantage of Giddey’s skills.

The Bulls have a bunch of weak defenders, and just subtracted their best defender and added another weak defender.

Just

I disagree.

They are a legit team with Lonzo, so it just makes sense they are going to be legit again with Giddey. Lonzo didn't have a 3 point shot before he came to the Bulls, so I can see Giddey improving in that area with their shooting staff.They have a really good team (Derozan, Levine, Vucevic, Coby), and the only missing piece is a facilitator. I would even argue Giddey > Lonzo. He's a great fit.

Please educate yourself (this is bad coming from a self proclaim realgm idiot).

https://youtu.be/js7KJdH6QkU?si=LQVCCJ-I9FSjeqv8

P.S. Be honest, name another PG that can pass like that in the game today.

Lonzo was shooting 40% from 3 on ~10 attempts per game starting in his sophomore season in LA and continued doing so in New Orleans and then in Chicago, so the bolded is completely false.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/balllo01.html

Furthermore the Thunder have emphasized shooting for development, which saw them bring in one of the best shooting coaches in the league, Chip Engelland.

Giddey's outside shooting is likely to improve in Chicago as it appeared he suffered from confidence and consistency (playing time, role) the past season in OKC.

[dakomish23]

IDK how Giddey fits in next to White, but I always like an upside play.

OKC just addressed their guard depth. Next up add another big man

[PushDaRock]

Yeah. I mean…Giddey gonna be a primary guy someone builds their team around?

Capping your ceiling real quick there.

They made a bad shooting team even worse.

They don’t have the personnel to take advantage of Giddey’s skills.

The Bulls have a bunch of weak defenders, and just subtracted their best defender and added another weak defender.

Just

I disagree.

They are a legit team with Lonzo, so it just makes sense they are going to be legit again with Giddey. Lonzo didn't have a 3 point shot before he came to the Bulls, so I can see Giddey improving in that area with their shooting staff.They have a really good team (Derozan, Levine, Vucevic, Coby), and the only missing piece is a facilitator. I would even argue Giddey > Lonzo. He's a great fit.

Please educate yourself (this is bad coming from a self proclaim realgm idiot).

https://youtu.be/js7KJdH6QkU?si=LQVCCJ-I9FSjeqv8

P.S. Be honest, name another PG that can pass like that in the game today.

Lonzo was shooting 40% from 3 on ~10 attempts per game starting in his sophomore season in LA and continued doing so in New Orleans and then in Chicago, so the bolded is completely false.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/balllo01.html

Furthermore the Thunder have emphasized shooting for development, which saw them bring in one of the best shooting coaches in the league, Chip Engelland.

Giddey's outside shooting is likely to improve in Chicago as it appeared he suffered from confidence and consistency (playing time, role) the past season in OKC.

That doesn't really make sense considering his 3 point shooting percentage went up a bit this year and on slightly higher volume on a per36 basis. That was a result of him taking significantly more corner 3's than previous seasons. If you take a look at his mechanics, there's just no way he becomes a good outside shooter without an overhaul. The release is incredibly slow which is why he shoots under 20% with a defender within 6 ft of him and the form is not conducive at all to consistent results. What probably saves him from being a complete brick layer is he has decent touch.

[dockingsched]

checks regdate. oh, ok.

Yeah. I mean…Giddey gonna be a primary guy someone builds their team around?

Capping your ceiling real quick there.

They made a bad shooting team even worse.

They don’t have the personnel to take advantage of Giddey’s skills.

The Bulls have a bunch of weak defenders, and just subtracted their best defender and added another weak defender.

Just

Lonzo didn't have a 3 point shot before he came to the Bulls, so I can see Giddey improving in that area with their shooting staff.

Lonzo shot 38% from 3 during his two seasons with the Pelicans prior to Chicago. Your statement is flat out wrong.

[flranger]

My first reaction is this poll will be 95% Thunder

On second thought, if Giddey at age 21, was in this draft he would probably go #1, or at least top #1-3. He is still younger than 1/3 of the drafted players this year.

[naabzor]

Caruso its overrated because of the title.

[Wingy]

While he is a few years older now, Caruso and healthy Lonzo were a terror and joy to watch that single half season.

Having him paired with Dort and Cason will be a lot of fun. OKC should be able to force a lot of turnovers and bad shots, and be able to get out and run off of them.

[Pointgod]

This was OKC’s Derek White trade. If they make the finals or win a chip, we’ll look back at this as WTF were the Bulls thinking?

[Lo Wang]

Yeah. I mean…Giddey gonna be a primary guy someone builds their team around?

Capping your ceiling real quick there.

They made a bad shooting team even worse.

They don’t have the personnel to take advantage of Giddey’s skills.

The Bulls have a bunch of weak defenders, and just subtracted their best defender and added another weak defender.

Just

Lonzo didn't have a 3 point shot before he came to the Bulls, so I can see Giddey improving in that area with their shooting staff.

Lonzo shot 38% from 3 during his two seasons with the Pelicans prior to Chicago. Your statement is flat out wrong.

You need to elaborate. What is your point? I'm an idiot, I need you to clarify. He improved from 38% to 42%, so why are you disagreeing with me Giddey can't improve as well? What am I missing?

[DusterBuster]

What were the Bulls thinking?

They missed their chance to get more for Caruso by not trading him at the deadline. You aren't getting much for 1 year of Caruso it was either Giddey or a mid-late FRP.

If you're going young (and trying to tank - which clearly the Bulls are moving to do given their 2025 pick situation), I actually don't hate the deal in a vacuum. As much as people loooooove their FRPs', having actual proven young talent players is something I would prefer personally.

While we heard the Bulls got multiple FRP offers for Caruso, we don't know the quality of those picks were.

[Lo Wang]

Yeah. I mean…Giddey gonna be a primary guy someone builds their team around?

Capping your ceiling real quick there.

They made a bad shooting team even worse.

They don’t have the personnel to take advantage of Giddey’s skills.

The Bulls have a bunch of weak defenders, and just subtracted their best defender and added another weak defender.

Just

I disagree.

They are a legit team with Lonzo, so it just makes sense they are going to be legit again with Giddey. Lonzo didn't have a 3 point shot before he came to the Bulls, so I can see Giddey improving in that area with their shooting staff.They have a really good team (Derozan, Levine, Vucevic, Coby), and the only missing piece is a facilitator. I would even argue Giddey > Lonzo. He's a great fit.

Please educate yourself (this is bad coming from a self proclaim realgm idiot).

https://youtu.be/js7KJdH6QkU?si=LQVCCJ-I9FSjeqv8

P.S. Be honest, name another PG that can pass like that in the game today.

Lonzo was shooting 40% from 3 on ~10 attempts per game starting in his sophomore season in LA and continued doing so in New Orleans and then in Chicago, so the bolded is completely false.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/balllo01.html

Furthermore the Thunder have emphasized shooting for development, which saw them bring in one of the best shooting coaches in the league, Chip Engelland.

Giddey's outside shooting is likely to improve in Chicago as it appeared he suffered from confidence and consistency (playing time, role) the past season in OKC.

Lonzo did not shoot 40% in LA. He shot 32% and improved to 38% in NO. He became elite in Chicago at 42%. That's a huge development.

I'm just saying Giddey will improve with the shooting staff in Chicago. They have a good developmental team over there.