Last month, ESPN's Kevin Pelton revisited the 2024 offseason's biggest deals. The NBA pundit regraded every major move after a year's worth of observation. For instance, the Chicago Bulls' sign-and-trade that sent DeMar DeRozan to the Sacramento Kings was regraded as a "D" after earning a "C" grade last offseason.
Of course, the Bulls' decision to part ways with DeRozan wasn't the franchise's only bold move in the summer of 2024. Chicago also swapped All-NBA Defender Alex Caruso with the Oklahoma City Thunder's Josh Giddey. Pelton had originally graded the trade as a "C+" for the Bulls before slightly upping it to a "C" following Giddey's impressive 2024-25 performance.
Yet, a "C+" isn't indicative of the Bulls' savvy trade. Sure, the Thunder deserve an A for the trade—that's a non-negotiable, as Caruso was a major factor in Oklahoma City's championship. Nonetheless, Chicago essentially traded a part-time starter who's averaged more than double-digits once for a 22-year-old with seemingly limitless potential.
On the flip side, Caruso's impact will hardly be felt in the box score. He's a Tasmanian Devil on the defensive end, tormenting whomever he's matched up against, whether it be 7-foot Nikola Jokic or 6-foot-8 Pascal Siakam; the 6-foot-5 guard is always up to the challenge.
However, there wasn't much of a use for a tertiary rotation piece on the rebuilding Bulls. With DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine in tow, Caruso made perfect sense, utilizing his rugged skillset to take on the tougher opposing matchups to ease each of the former All-Star's defensive burdens. Thus, the Bulls' reasoning for making the trade was rather obvious. Chicago banked on Giddey's upside, and it panned out.
Bleacher Report slighted the Bulls move to acquire Josh Giddey
Still, regardless of the symbiotic trade, the disbelievers remain prevalent. Bleacher Report also released a similar article to ESPN's trade regrades, titled "Re-Grading Biggest 2024 NBA Offseason Trades and Moves 1 Year Later."
Instead of revisiting each move, Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes merely offered a new grade. Hughes handed the Thunder a "B," while dishing out a "C-" to the Bulls. The NBA expert wrote, "With a big financial commitment looming, Chicago might have been better off trading Caruso for picks and young players earlier in their rookie-scale deals," backing up Chicago's shoddy grade.
Earlier in the blurb, Hughes mentioned Caruso's four-year, $81 million contract. Despite the hefty price tag for a soon-to-be 32-year-old, Hughes stated the Caruso had already served his purpose in Oklahoma City, making his bloated pact insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
The same logic wasn't used when assessing Giddey, who's nearly a decade younger than Caruso. Although the Aussie prefers a $30 million per annum contract, it's rather unlikely he'll receive such a sum. Somewhere between $20 and $25 million per season seems to make more sense.
Therefore, if Giddey signs a four-year, $100 million contract, he'll earn just $19 million more than Caruso, or just under $5 million per season more. That's certainly a worthy contract for a player who'll be only 26 years old before he hits unrestricted free agency. Conversely, Caruso will be earning $22.4 million as a 35-year-old.
Furthermore, due to Caruso's strenuous style of play, he's only cleared 70 games once in his career. Giddey has proven durable, suiting up for 70 or more contests in three of four seasons. While Giddey isn't as malleable as Caruso, his production a season ago, especially after the Bulls traded LaVine, hints at All-Star potential—something Caruso doesn't offer.