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Last offseason, the Chicago Bulls sent Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Josh Giddey. The trade did end up working out better than expected for the Bulls as Giddey showed some big-time improvements throughout the year, but the fan base wasn't very happy when the trade was announced.
Bulls fans thought that the team could've gotten more for Caruso, and it turns out that might've been the case.
A lot of people think that the Bulls could've gotten a first-round draft pick in the Josh Giddey-Alex Caruso trade. The Thunder are loaded up with future picks, and OKC insider Berry Tramel thinks that Sam Presti would've dealed one away if the Bulls pushed a bit harder.
“People always say that Chicago probably could have got a first-round draft pick out of Sam Presti for two reasons,” Tramel said. “One, he's got so many, what's he going to do with all of them? And number two, everybody in the league knew, and which means Sam Presti knew it more than anybody else, what Alex Caruso would mean to this team's title chances.
“He wasn't going to let that deal go over a future first-round draft pick. Maybe that's true, I don't know, but it looks like a good trade for both teams from where I'm sitting, but I will say it's been a great trade for the Thunder.”
This trade has still worked out well for the Bulls. Giddey ended up having an outstanding season, and he fits in better in Chicago than he did in OKC.
“Giddey's unbelievably talented. He's fun,” Tramel continued. “He does all kinds of stuff, but he was pretty superfluous to the Thunder. Giddey's best with the ball in his hands. And guess what? The Thunder doesn't want to take the ball out of SGA's (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) hands.
“So Giddey, also not a not a great defender, sort of got in the way of this string of great defenders that they like to trot out there. Chicago needed a ball handler or an instigator, quarterback, a point guard.”
Giddey fits in well with the Bulls, and Caruso fits in well with the Thunder. His style doesn't work for the entire season, but that works out on a team that is loaded like OKC.
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“To me, it seemed like a really good trade for both teams,” Tramel said. “It turned out to be a good trade for both teams. From where I'm sitting, a guy like Caruso is more valuable on a great team or a contending team.
“I think he talked last night about how he sort of plays a maniacal form of basketball, which is true, and it's the kind of place where he doesn't do that in a regular season because you can't play like that 82 games a year.”
Now that the Thunder are in the playoffs, they are seeing just how important Caruso is for this team. He is giving them something that Giddey couldn't.
“The Thunder are glad to have him sit out every third game. If he gets injured, they don't rush him back, knock yourself out,” Tramel added. “Rest up, Caruso, we're going to unleash you in the playoffs. And that's what they did.
“And he's a guy that when you get him into the playoffs, he's unbelievably invaluable because, like I said, Game 7, they put him on [Nikola] Jokic. He's guarding the best player often on the other team when it's not Lou Dort. He's really good on offense. We saw it, 20 points last night. So it's a perfect trade.”
The Bulls probably could've gotten more from the Thunder in the Josh Giddey-Alex Caruso trade, but they can't dwell on it now. It's over, and Caruso is now three wins away from his second ring.
