Chicago's decision to trade for Josh Giddey has been labeled as a mistake, but a year later, the deal that sent Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder is a win for the Bulls.
From afar, it seems like the Thunder fleeced Chicago. All Oklahoma City gave up for one of the best defenders in the league was a player who had been phased out of head coach Mark Daigneault's rotation. Giddey and the Thunder were mutually parting anyway. The Bulls could have at least extracted a pick or two, right? True.
But after last season, it's become apparent that vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and Chicago's much-maligned front office had a plan to rebuild its team on the fly, and Giddey was the ideal point guard to execute it.
Despite the evidence to the contrary, the Bulls are still considered losers in the deal. Kevin Pelton of ESPN re-graded the trade and admitted that Giddey is the right fit in the Windy City, but he's still hesitant -- as are most national media members -- to consider the move a win for Chicago.
Josh Giddey-Alex Caruso trade has to be considered a win for the Bulls
Pelton writes the following about Chicago's side of the deal:
"Although Chicago still should have acquired even more for Caruso given his importance to Oklahoma City, the Bulls are better off with Giddey -- a restricted free agent this summer -- going forward. Giddey improved his shooting and efficiency last season, nearly averaging a triple-double with an impressive .620 true shooting percentage after the All-Star break."
All of that is true. Yet the NBA insider only moves his original trade grade for the Bulls from a C- to a C+. Giddey's importance to Chicago's shift from an iso-heavy offense to one of the fastest-paced in the league can't be understated. That grade has to be higher.
The 6-foot-8 floor general was the Bulls' second-best rebounder last year and its assist leader. His ability to start a one-man fastbreak helped the Bulls go from 28th in pace in 2023-24 to second last year, and along with it, a jump from 22nd in points per game (112.3) to sixth (117.8). Donovan's squad also jumped to third in three-point attempts (42.0) from 26th (32.1).
Giddey had by far his best NBA season last year, but he took off even more after the All-Star break, nearly averaging a triple-double -- 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists -- while shooting 50 percent from the field and 46 percent from three. Considering the Aussie's role as the engine that drives Chicago's warp-speed offense, it's not surprising that the Bulls got better when Giddey did.
Over that same post-All-Star break span, the Bulls were the second highest scoring team in the league (121.5 ppg) behind only the Thunder. They jumped to first in pace. Most importantly, the team closed out the year 17-10 after going 22-33 before the break.
Yes, Karnisovas could have pulled some draft capital from OKC in the deal. Yes, the Bulls will have to fork over a large sum of money, and likely over a long period of time. But there's no denying Giddey's importance to the franchise moving forward. The Bulls are building a young core fit to run opposing teams out of the gym, and they can't accomplish it without their 22-year-old floor general.
He may not be Chicago's best player, but Giddey is its most valuable. Landing that piece of the organization deserves a higher grade than a C+.