The franchises confirmed on Friday that the Chicago Bulls have traded guard Josh Giddey to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for two-time NBA All-Defensive Team player Alex Caruso.
The 30-year-old guard, who general manager Sam Presti has long sought for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference this past postseason, is one of the league’s most sought-after role players, and he joins the Thunder in the deal. One may compare Caruso’s acquisition to the Golden State Warriors’ 2013 purchase of Andre Iguodala. Iguodala was likewise thirty years old at the time of that agreement.
The Bulls are committed to finding a playmaker to take Lonzo Ball’s position, and Giddey, 21, has All-Star potential that the Thunder are unlikely to fulfill due to the The star power that enveloped him was playmaking. There is anticipation that the team wants to give 7-footer Chet Holmgren even greater playmaking responsibilities after point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished second in the MVP voting this past season.
Giddey found it “impossible for him to envision,” according to Presti, who stated in a statement that the Thunder had intended to move the guard off the bench the following season.
“Talks shifted to him asking about other possible opportunities,” according to Presti. “As always, Josh conducted the conversations with the highest level of professionalism. Josh has All-Star potential, but it wouldn’t be best for the Thunder as a whole to use that in their current configuration. We made the decision to proceed and give top priority to what was best for the business after these discussions.”
As the sixth overall choice in the 2021 NBA draft, Giddey went on to become one of the most inventive young players in the game. He will have more freedom to pass and score when he has the ball in his hands thanks to the Bulls. Giddey provides them with the offensive motor they were looking for.
Giddey finished the previous season with a career-high 80 games played for the Thunder, but in the Western Conference playoffs, he eventually began to play off the bench.As his role with the Thunder changed, his scoring average fell from 16.6 points per game in 2022–2023 to 12.3 points this past season. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Giddey has 11 career triple-doubles, which is fourth most by a player under the age of twenty-one, behind just Luka Doncic, Magic Johnson, and Ben Simmons.
Caruso led the NBA in steals during the previous season and had a 40.8% 3-point shooting percentage. According to ESPN Stats & Information, he was second in defensive half-court matches versus 2024 All-Star players, behind only his new Thunder colleague, Luguentz Dort.
With Caruso, Dort, and Chandler Wallace, the Thunder now have three of the league’s top guards as on-ball defenders.
Six months after this transaction, Caruso will be qualified for a four-year, $80 million contract extension. The last year of his contract is about to start. According to sources, the Thunder struck the agreement in an effort to retain Caruso as a key member of their squad going forward.
Giddey is a part of the 2021 draft class and is qualified to negotiate a rookie-scale deal.
