ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has dropped his latest patented ‘Woj bomb’, reporting that the Chicago Bulls have agreed to send 30-year-old back-to-back NBA All-Defensive team guard Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for 21-year-old point guard out of the Australian National Basketball League, the NBL. For a front office that was extremely hesitant to move Caruso for the better part of two years, the Bulls have also broken their record of over three calendar years without a trade, the longest in the NBA. While Chicago does add a 21-year-old with already more playoff experience than the large majority of their roster, was this trade much of a win for their future?
Giddey fills an interesting role for the Bulls. While the front office has remained firm that Lonzo Ball will return to form and is healthy enough to start this season where he left off several seasons ago, Giddey is also a point guard who will crack the starting five. Having been a starter for all 210 games of his young career, averaging nearly 14 points and six assists per game, he’s always been the listed shooting guard to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s point guard role. His archetype aligns much better with the point guard role, which is also likely why the Thunder thought it was time to move on.
Wojnarowski details that Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti has in mind a similar philosophy to the Golden State Warriors in 2013 when they added defensive menace Andre Iguodala en route to a dynasty over the next decade. As the number one seed this past season, they fell short to the Western Conference Champion Dallas Mavericks in six games and their inability to contain Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving played an integral role in their series defeat.
When trading a 21-year-old talent anywhere, a front office would hope it is in exchange for pieces that will help in the immediate future and for years to follow. Wojnarowski reports that the Thunder’s goal is to ink Caruso to an extension once he becomes eligible in six months, with his contract expiring at the end of the 2024-25 season; failure to reach an agreement would mean a one-year rental of the defensive star guard’s services.
While the Bulls lose their best defensive player, and many can argue they were offered better trades during his tenure with the team, this adds a solid starting caliber player at only 21 years old and frees up Coby White to thrive in the primary scoring role. This move further proves that the Bulls are moving on from Zach LaVine, and the newest backcourt in Chicago will feature 24-year-old White and 21-year-old Giddey with 362 games of starting experience under their belts.
Was this a success for the Chicago Bulls? Regardless of whether the trade was the best outcome for the Bulls, the silver lining is that now, without a doubt, the front office has committed to change—something they could not claim for the past three seasons of endless mediocrity.
