After years of doing nothing, the Chicago Bulls finally made a trade, sending Alex Caruso to the OKC Thunder in a straight-up exchange for Josh Giddey.
I have to say, the more I think about this trade, the more I hate it for the Bulls, who clearly waited too long and missed their opportunity to get a better return for a two-time All-Defensive guard.
I would go as far as to say the Bulls got fleeced, a common occurrence when dealing with Sam Presti, who doesn’t have a young, talented team with a million assets because he’s bad at his job.
In typical Bulls’ fashion, they waited too long for no reason and had to take pennies on the dollar. But could this eventually work out for the Bulls?
The Chicago Bulls could have had more
It is now a fact that the Bulls could have taken a couple of first-round picks for Caruso, including the 10th in this draft. Those assets could have been used to start a youth movement for real or to package in a trade to move up or to grab proven players.
Instead, the Bulls got a controversial player who, like Caruso, only has one year left on his deal. Giddey could end up being a rental and leave after next season, leaving Chicago nothing in return for Caruso.
The worst part is that the Bulls weren’t able to get a single pick from OKC, a team that has so many picks there is no way they can even use them all. They have five in the first round of the 2025 draft alone and the Bulls couldn’t get one of them? Couldn’t get a second rounder? Are you telling me there wasn’t a team out there willing to offer at least one pick? Arturas Karnisovas continues his tradition of making bad trades.
It was a crime of asset management by the Bulls, who should have traded Caruso at the deadline if they were going to do it. Giddey is nothing more than a young wildcard, who could end up being good, but could also be a going the other direction.
Is Josh Giddey any good?
The answer to this is both yes and no. He started 80 games for one of the best teams in the league last year and is only 21 years old, so he can obviously play. We likely haven’t seen the best of Giddey, who was sharing a backcourt with another ball-dominant guard.
If you just look at the numbers, his 12.3 points, 4.8 assists and 6.4 rebounds per game on 47/33/80 shooting splits are not bad. He’s a big playmaker who is a nice fit with Cody White potentially and still has not reached his peak. The Bulls could look back on this trade as the thing that turned their franchise around if Giddey is good.
The downside is that he looked like a defeated player in the playoffs after getting benched. The Mavericks targeted him relentlessly on both ends to the point he couldn’t say on the court, and it definitely looked like a blow to his confidence.
He also had troubling off-the-court issues that will not endear him to fans, so Giddey is going to have to be great right away or risks getting booed by Chicago fans because of these allegations. He has an uphill battle to be sure.
If the Bulls are getting the Giddey who sulked on the bench for OKC, this is a disaster waiting to happen. If Giddey fulfills or even exceeds his potential, then maybe you could justify what the Bulls turned down for Caruso, but if not, it’s a garbage return, especially because it could have a ripple effect.
What about DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine?
We talked about the possible ripple effect this trade could have on guys like DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball.
In the cases of LaVine and Ball, Giddey is a non-factor, as they aren’t likely to be with the team much longer anyway.
But what about DeRozan? Does this move make him reconsider coming back to Chicago? He and Giddey are a lousy fit, as Giddey likes to use his size to get into the lane and takes up a lot of the space as DeRozan in the same areas.
Giddey is not a shooting threat, so teams just sag into the mid-range and lane, which would not be good for DeRozan.
He could also see this move as a step back and want no part of the team moving forward, which would be understandable for a guy in the twilight of his career.
In short, this was a lousy deal for the Bulls unless Giddey turns out to be great, as they gave up a very important (and coveted) player for some hope and a bag of magic beans.
If the Bulls had gotten at least a pick along with Giddey, it wouldn’t be so bad, but to take on the worse player, who has no contract advantages, and get no assets in return, has set Chicago up to lose yet another trade.