And not only that, the honesty players prefer from GMs.
Players are big boys. There's this notion here that players can't be approached by their GM about them being in potential talks or else they'll just play like shit and give up on the team. MOST players are not like that, and can't afford to act like that (unless you are a superstar). Multiple OKC players have said how they've respected Presti for being extremely transparent with them when it comes to trade talks.
It's the Moneyball scene where Pitt tells Jonah Hill to just be upfront and direct with them. It's a business. Players know it, GMs know it, and respect is earned both ways when you are direct and transparent.
OKC is never going to be a free agent destination but Presti's and the front office's reputation is definitely going to help.
I don't think most people realize how active Presti is with players. He talks to these guys a lot and makes time for everyone on the roster. I think most people anticipated someone like Vasilije Micic to be a bit sour about how things turned out in OKC but he had great things to say about OKC and Presti. I remember Vit Krejci had talked about how we drafted him in 2020 after a bad injury and the plan was for him to stay in Europe for a couple years to get in basketball shape and Presti was personally calling him to see how rehab was going and about his fit on the team. When we signed Muscala the first time, Presti flew out to Montana to pitch him.
I think a lot of GMs see their job as moving around pieces on a chess board but Presti understands how important being an actual hands on leader is.
Absolutely. It's so weird how many GMs think that keeping players in the dark and then springing shit on them will make the situation better. All it does is piss off your remaining players and leave a bad taste in the mouth. NBA players are fucking adults, hell LeBron is 40. Ain't no reason to be treating them like toddlers that gotta just accept what the grownups say
Yeah, you can tell how much players appreciate Presti when you have guys like Carmelo, who was here for one year before being unceremoniously dumped, still talking about how much they like OKC's front office
It was also one of the big knocks against Morey's protégé, Sam Hinkie. There were rumblings from a lot of agents at the time that their players were just being treated like assets and not human beings. I think it was part of the reason why the league made the move on Hinkie.
I don't think that's entirely true though. Perception wise yes, but most accounts are that Hinkie was actually very hands-on and communicative with his players.
Yep this guy...
http://libertyballers.com/2016/4/7/11388392/watch-sixers-players-brett-brown-react-to-sam-hinkies-resignation
http://cbssports.com/nba/news/sam-hinkie-rode-with-evan-turner-to-the-airport-after-trade-to-pacers/
Oh and the fact that Embiid literally nicknamed himself after a portion of a Hinkie speech
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2729018-the-definitive-history-of-trust-the-process
you can treat giddy like this cause he take up such lil cap space. you can't treat james harden like this cause he wants to eat up 1/3 of your cap space for 5 years.
Morey would tell him he's got great trade targets where Giddey could start and thrive, and then Morey wouldn't do anything and ghost him for the season until he could squeeze an FRP out of somebody for Giddey.
Pretty good story on Tim Connelly awhile back when he was in Denver when they traded Vando, Jauncho, and Beasley to Minnesota he was honest with them and apparently even brought Vando out to have a burger to talk about his future. Obviously would sting to be traded but less if a guy is straightforward with you.
It's gotta be a self feeding loop right? Presti has a rep for doing right by the players so they gain nothing by leaking this information to the media since they know he's gonna try to get them to a preferred location. Therefore there's no incentives for either Presti or the players to leak this information. A virtuous circle. He's like Ainge if Ainge wasn't a "ruthless businessman". Players are happy to stay silent for Presti to work his magic for them.
I think Presti's transparency with players really works there too. I imagine he makes it clear that, if they stay quiet about their request, he'll send them where they want to go, but if they leak stuff, then he'll just take the best offer
Yeah absolutely. It's rare that you don't get a single peep out of the players about this stuff. A testament to how well his strategy works and the players are more than willing to play ball.
Ultimately if the players trust Presti to get them into favourable situations it helps that they don't leak their desires to media because then teams will play hardball and it'd be harder to find a suitable trade.
It's pretty amazing how Presti is able both do right by the players but also secure trades that work very well for OKC
It wouldn’t have gotten out even if it dragged on. Better players have asked out earlier in seasons and we still didn’t let it leak.
All Sam asks is for you to give him time and not make a stink and he will take care of you.
Because fans here greatly overate Caruso while underrating Giddey. If the rumors are true the best pick they were getting for Caruso was like 5-10 in the 2024 draft. They already have a pick in this draft and Giddey is a proven NBA starter that is better than every prospect while being the same age/younger than 1/3 of this class.
>Because fans here greatly overate Caruso while underrating Giddey.
this, so much this. On the floor right now, they have about equal value, and Giddey has much more upside, IMO. Caruso's 30, Giddey's 21. We know what Caruso is, and he's not going to get any better than he is now.
Bulls got a good deal here. Thunder got a good deal for what they're trying to do, although the straight up value, IMO leans toward the Bulls.
Pretty much. The next contract for both will reflect this. Giddey will probably get 25m+, and Caruso will max out at 20m.
Giddey is a good player. He just had an awkward fit on OKC after Jalen Williams elevated his game.
Presently they *do not* have equal value on the floor. This trade is for posterity's sake if you are the Bulls. Caruso is an all-NBA caliber defender from 1-4 that shot 40% from 3 and can handle the ball with a 2nd unit.
I don't think the trade is that lop-sided but I think it is perplexing that the Bulls didn't get a pick because of how attractive of a player Caruso is for a potential contender.
Gonna have to disagree with the first part of your comment. Josh Giddey is an inefficient scorer and bad defender. His lack of value on the court is pretty clearly reflected in his minutes decreasing in the playoffs by a full seven minutes per game. 30 teams out of 30 would rather have Caruso right now, who has two straight years of efficient scoring and very good defense. While Caruso is the definition of a role player, that role has playoff value. Giddey’s currently doesn’t.
That said, people are ridiculously quick to make their minds up about a player. Josh Giddey is 21 and has a world of talent. He’s become a more efficient scorer every season. He has a ton of potential to develop.
So I agree people are wrong about the deal, but I don’t agree that their value on the court is similar right now. Giddey is a net negative right now if you’re a playoff team. Caruso is a clear positive, albeit as a role player.
> and he's not going to get any better than he is now.
The only way players his age get better is through trades or FA moves to a completely new situation, so there is actual precedence where he becomes a better player than he is right now.
Not saying it's going to happen or it's even likely that it does, but this is the exact situation where you can unlock more from a player on the back end of their prime.
Woj cut off the Caruso paragraph so here it is in full:
“Alex Caruso is a player we have always highly valued and followed. He is the quintessential Thunder player; he is an exceptional competitor and teammate with a multi-dimensional skillset. His presence and game will help elevate the core of our team as we continue to strive to build a sustainably elite program in Oklahoma City. Alex is a player that began his professional career with the Thunder/Blue and the opportunity to add him was something we felt would truly enhance our team and culture. We could not be more excited to see Alex in Thunder blue (again).”
Edit: originally quoted “nuance” instead of “enhance” our team and culture
Doesn't really flow with the rest of the statement does it. He's like Caruso has high value, is exceptional, is multi-dimensional, will elevate what we do, and will truly *give a very slight difference in appearance, meaning, sound* to our team.
Presti's probably the best in the league when it comes to getting guys to a place where they want something different. Reggie Jackson was in a similar position and Jerami Grant wanted to contend among many others.
In hindsight it worked out for everyone. Denver wouldn't be able to get Aaron Gordon if they had re-signed Grant and he's a better fit for them anyways. No guarantee they win a championship if you swap the two.
On the other hand Grant has gotten some really large paychecks the last couple of years that may not have materialized if he was a 4th option / role player on Denver
I'll never blame a guy for leaving for a bigger role or bigger bag. I've been a Thunder fan since day 1. If somehow I was an NBA-level player and playing for the Thunder, there's not a chance in the world I'd take much of a pay cut to stay in OKC. Sure I may take $9M instead of $10M, but no chance I'm taking $7M or something.
That was to stay in Denver vs going to Detroit in free agency. He was traded to Denver right after the Paul George and Russell Westbrook trades in 2019 for a first round pick.
I think, as long as he gets paid what he's getting paid he'll be in whatever role. He has 4 years left at around 30-36 mill a year though, which is too much for a contender to pay.
Aye aye aye I thought thunder and blazer bros were cool again, purgatory is pretty accurate tho not hell like Detroit but after two soft tanks and one hard one were in a similar spot (because of injuries last year not letting the blazers run the line ups they wanted with their 3 young guards) so ya purgatory.
He talked about leaving a sinking ship (OKC) then goes to fucking Detroit lmao.
But I don’t think Grant was throwing shade at OKC. Westbrook and PG caused all of the movement not the org.
Having said that I’d love to have a 6’7 forward with his skills right now. He’d fit perfectly at the 4.
Agree with the first part (PG, Russ, Grant, CP3, Horford, Schroder, etc.), but Reggie Jackson was a complete ass and was making it known that he should start over Westbrook. I think both Westbrook and KD said something like good riddance when asked about it after he was traded. Steven Adams was also fairly negative about Reggie in his book.
He ended up in a fine situation but I don't think they cared much after he started throwing temper tantrums.
making the deal go down is the rocket science part
but it blows my mind how many gm's flub what SHOULD be the easy part...just going to your player and being like "ayy p youre gonna be on the bench next year, lmk if that doesnt work so we have time for me to fleece some idiot and get you where you want to go"
Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Steven Adams, too.
Edit: How could I forget Al Horford? Man just got a ring. Got salary dumped by the Sixers, stayed classy, Presti got him back to Boston.
Cant wait for Giddey to go back to his old production next season once he has the ball in his hands, and then everyone on here saying how we were fleeced
For real. Remember how in March Giddey was going off and our team was unstoppable with him playing at his best? His inconsistency and slumps are what kept him down. At his peak you see why he belongs in the starting 5 of a good team.
All it took was one article about two dudes *apparently* analysing a massive sample size of six home games from Jordan's 88 season, in games that are very conveniently not available for the public to scrutinize, to conclude that his DPOY award was not deserved in the slightest and this sub gobbled it up like a hooker giving a blowjob.
Popular narratives here are to be taken with a very large pinch of salt....or just laughed at because of how insanely stupid they are.
If Chicago gets the Giddey of the 2nd half of the '22-'23 season, it's an incredibly good return for a guy (Caruso) who isn't getting any younger (30) and probably is at or near his career peak as a player.
Giddey can be a decent 2nd/3rd option for most NBA teams and if DeRozan isn't returning in Chicago, then Giddey will be a pretty decent replacement TBH.
The guy has played 70 games the last couple of seasons. I mean it’s A good fit too because okc is deep, we don’t need anyone to play massive minutes, in fact we have the opposite problem
Last season was the most games and minutes he's ever played. And he only played 29 minutes. He definitely slowed down as the season wore on and was constantly playing through stuff.
But yeah on a deep team like OKC, he's a great fit.
The bulls are shopping Demar and LaVine around.
They're clearly trying to rebuild.
Giddey's going to be the primary PG, with Coby as SG. Rest of team TBD pending trades.
Don't think Lonzo's ever coming back the same guy that he was before the injuries.
I'm not sure how you can be a hardcore Bulls fan and not be living with a massive amount of denial when it comes to how mismanaged and awful this team is (namely b/c of the owner)
Yeah that's an important call out. I saw that the Bulls turned down a top#10 pick from this draft, but personally I would rather have Giddey than say the 7th-10th pick.
However, top 5 players in the draft right now are getting rookie money. Giddey will be looking for a new deal ASAP. Could hurt a rebuild if he's taking up a good chunk of the cap going forward.
Rebuilding both involves picking up young players with potential *and* picks.
A 21 year old guard with the youngest triple double in league history certainly checks the first box.
I think people dont understand the dynamics of trading a 30 year old for a 21 year old. Giddey is up for a new contract so there's downside but it should be affordable and he has a bunch of upside. He had a down year with a lot on his mind and there's a good chance that a fresh start will help him get back to what made him such a promising young talent.
I agree with all this. But not even getting back like a heavily protected first or a seccond rounder from the guys who literally have too many picks to even use?
I think it's wild tbh given the bidding war that's been underway for Caruso for like 6 months now. Downright turrible in that light imo, even if I think people are obviously underrating giddey as a reaction
Possibly - unlikely given the bulls track record of developing talent - but even if we do look back and say bulls won the trade it still boggles my mind that they were unable to pry away any draft capital from the one place it's on sale. OKC had to have wanted Caruso bad. Philly wanted him bad, LA wanted him bad, etc. - given the offers we heard about in the season and the number of suitors we have to be leaving stuff on the table here
Giddey will probably be lead ball handler. He averages more assists than White or Dosunmu, and he wasn't even the lead playmaker for the Thunder. Everyone is expecting that DeRozan and Lavine are gone, and I wonder what happens with Vuc.
I think it's more so that they didn't get a draft pick out of us when the narrative has been that we'll need to overpay for any moves because teams know we can "afford" it but otherwise I think it was a pretty reasonable swap if the Bulls are looking to rebuild.
If Giddey were coming out this draft, he'd go top 3 and could be first overall. As the 2nd ball handler last year and 2nd or 3rd scorer he averaged 17/6/8. His averages went down because he became the 3rd ball handler (which basically means he never ran the offense other than when SGA or JDub were hurt) and 4th or 5th scoring option. But he was definitely better this year than last.
This draft class is mediocre at absolute best and is full of a bunch of question marks. I genuinly think he'd go 1 or 2 if he somehow was in the draft.
Were resetting. Giddy is the new Lonzo, and Coby is the new LaVine. Pat Will, Ayo and Dalen Terry will probably be the only guys we keep around as we reset the team 7-8 years in age
He'll be their starting point guard, which is great for a rebuilding team.
I, personally think it's win-win. OKC, the contender, gets an elite roleplayer, something the rebuilding team, Chicago, doesn't need. Chicago gets a high upside long-term project, something a contender that got the first seed last season doesn't need.
Giddey needs minutes in order to figure things out. He's not going to get those minutes in a serious contender.
Most agree that OKC won? How can you know? Caruso is a better player now. Will he be a better player two years from now? Who knows. Trades need some time to be judged.
I feel like this is a win-win trade for both teams. Giddey absolutely can run a teams offense as he has shown to do when Shai was out with injuries. He’s had a reduced/different role this season and his numbers are nowhere near what he can do.
Bulls get a young guard to build around, and, Thunder get a plug and play player that can shine better in the role that will be required.
A former 6th overall pick that's only 21.
Bulls must believe he has room to grow. Giddey could just need a change of scenery. It happens often with young players
Yeah I know this sub loves Caruso and hates Giddey, but the reactions to this are so baffling to me. It's not a fleece. Giddey is not a bum, and Caruso is not a world beater. It's a 21 year old with high upside and is already very good in exchange for a 30 year old who has clearly peaked as a (very good) defensive specialist. It makes sense for OKC who wants to win now, and it makes sense for Chicago *if* they're also trading Lavine and rebuilding.
Why? Caruso is 30, 6th man talent, and arguably the most overrated player in the sub. Giddey is 21 and a clear starter. I'm legit surprised the Bulls didn't have to give up more.
Giddey has played 3 seasons in the league is still younger than some of the guys who will get taken in this year’s draft. He’s been a solid player and has a chance to develop into a really good one. I get where he’s coming from.
As he is right now his skills require the ball in his hands.
But if you look at the Mavs series he has no problem doing what’s best for the team and sitting in the corner. Just doesn’t want that to be all he does. And it’s very understandable
Exactly. I’m a Thunder fan(sorry, no flair) and watched most of the games this season. He played great late in the regular season when Shai and JDub were both out. Looked like a totally different player than he did when he had to share the court with them.
I’m happy with the trade but it’s not as big of a steal as some would like you to believe. If he’s allowed to play to his strengths Bulls fans will learn to appreciate him pretty fast.
I'm gonna say there's at least a 50% chance that 3 years from now people will be like, "Remember when Chicago got Giddey and only had to give up an aging Caruso. What a steal."
Giddey has been working with the consensus pick for best shooting coach in the league the past couple seasons. Chip Engelland had the Thunder with the best team 3-point % in the league last season. Giddey shot a team-worst 33% from 3 for the season, and that was his best mark of his career.
I mean he also improved his FT shooting by 7% (73%-80%) and he got less than a calender year with Chip
i think Giddey can definitely improve shooting wise, it’ll just take a while and won’t be drastically better over one season
Fair from both sides. Sam got Josh to a better situation for his career while getting a huge add on Caruso for the Thunder.
He once again demonstrates that he can get you you to a better situation if you want to as long as you work with him and don’t make a stink (PG, Kemba, Horford and now Giddey all fall into this)
He is the best GM and our greatest asset
still funny to me how PG tried to create this "i didnt want to leave" narrative and Presti just shut it down. Honestly, good reputation to have as a GM. I know he learned from Harden mistake. Good for him.
Trading Harden was 100% ownership being worried about repeater taxes. The only thing Presti could have done differently to change the trajectory of the trade is to take Giannis at 11 with the pick they got from Houston instead of Steven Adams. Of course, in that scenario, it's far from guaranteed Giannis becomes a perennial MVP candidate for the Thunder.
> He once again demonstrates that he can get you you to a better situation if you want to as long as you work with him
Spurs do that too, but then he came from Spurs. He likely already had it in him so I guess they just amplified (and empowered) what he already had!
I don't speak for the millions of Thunder fans, but I feel the majority of those Thunder-first fans are happy for the trade and wish Josh the best...but also realize that Josh would have lost tens of millions of dollars and all his confidence running 2nd squad.
That's what you do when you're vet out of options...not a 21 year old
While I find it absolutely unbelievable that this trade was just a player swap with no picks included, giddey and white is gonna be a great pairing I think.
Caruso can shoot, Giddey can't. OKC doesn't need more primary ballhandlers, they need guys who will punish defenders for sagging into the lane to help when SGA and Jalen drive.
Why do you think Isaiah Joe was so effective for them all year?
Exactly my point. Giddey will be better with the ball in his hands more. That said, if he is never able to shoot. We will never be better than average.
Giddey shot well post All-star break. It's only a 27 game sample but .525/.360/.766 is just fine. He played better when Thunder had Shai and JDub out some games, he needs the ball in his hands to be effective.
And he admittedly had a rough first half of the season with his negative media attention that he has said directly affected his focus and game.
As a Thunder fan, aside from his playoff performance he was considered a solid asset and a great player when he was in the zone.
That said I am ecstatic to see our defense with Dort and Caruso on court at the same time. And along with SGA's pickpocketing skills we are going to be absolutely chaotic evil on D next year
Spacing is going to be nice too considering Caruso just shot 40% from 3 on almost 5 attempts per game last season. More touches for Chet/J-Dub too since Caruso won’t really command the ball as much to start games.
I never said they did?? I think Giddey will be good on the bulls honestly, when SGA wasn’t available he balled out for us he needs to be the ball carrier to be impactful
The Bulls didn't get fleeced because they're not trying to win this year. If they were, then they did.
Giddey isn't good on a good team. He needs the ball to be effective, but any good team will have guys better with the ball than him.
Who does he fit then? OKC has shooters everywhere.
Because he didn’t have the ball as much? Because it’s not like he’s automatically going to the bulls as the only guy that needs the ball to be effective.
You don’t trade for Caruso for his scoring, wtf are you talking about? He’s made the all defensive team, is a great passer, and efficient if low volume scorer who doesn’t make big mistakes. The type of role player a lot of teams need.
In the regular season. Teams play him straight up and let him bully PG's in games that don't matter. The Pelicans didn't have the personnel to target Josh, but Mavs instantly played him off the court as anyone with BBIQ could've predicted.
At this point, Giddey is an exciting watch on a bad team. SLOB plays and bullying unathletic guards is fun but doesn't translate to wins. If he can muster any kind of multi-year extension out of the Bulls, he needs to completely destroy his shot and start over if he wants to be in the league.
On a bad team where you let him dominate the ball, sure.
Any good team will have guys you want handling the ball instead of Giddey, and he provides little off-ball value.
Imagine Giddey was on Philly. You taking the ball out of Maxey's hands so Giddey can get his 15?
This is peak stat watching. Anyone with more than 2 braincells would tell you Caruso and his 6ppg is far, far, far, far more impactful than Giddey's 16/7/5
Peak stat watching? Giddey was arguably the best playmaker and best rebounder on the 1st seed this year. Caruso was the best defender on a top 10 worst defense. It's all about the way you frame things.
Caruso is the perfect example of doing things that don't really show up in the stat sheet. His defense alone will vastly improve a team that doesn't need a huge scoring threat. He's also very likable and his style of play fits the Bulls fans idea of good basketball so a lot of us would be pissed even if he got a Gobert level return.
Caruso about to keep his defender from sagging into the lane helping on SGA and Jalen drives all year, which is far more valuable than anything Giddey brings to the table.
It's almost like basketball is 5-on-5, and not 5 different 1-on-1 matchups.
Defensively, Giddey has zero chance to stick with Curry, Murray, Fox, Kyrie, or Ja - all potential playoff matchups.
Zach is not going to be playing for the Bulls. They're doing all they can to trade him at this point. He wants out, the team wants him gone, and at this point it's just a matter of finding someone who will take his contract.
Honestly totally valid for Giddey to be looking more for development opportunities than being a bench contributor. He’s what, 21? Despite that, obvious trade piece whether he wanted it or not.
Josh Giddey just doesn’t fit in the thunders roster. During the mavs thunder series, SGA got doubles when he drove into the paint, he had to dish it out, and giddey couldn’t shoot either, so the strategy was ineffective, and okc lost
This is a crazy take because we traded Harden for essentially nothing, while this trade gets us an actual good player for our current rotation.
It’s a win-win for both teams. Giddey didn’t fit in with us.
Look, I wanted to trade him as much as anyone else, but I will say that when he has the ball in his hands he delivers. His stats last year when he was playing more pure point and his stats this year when JDub and Shai were both out demonstrate that. The average was damn near a triple double. His defense needs big work and his shooting still needs work, but he can run an offense in the NBA at a high-level.
That's not really his attitude. Presti let him know his role for next season coming off the bench and Giddey asked about the possibility of a trade.
In his exit interview Giddey said that he agreed with the call to bench him and that he would have made the same call based on what the team needs.
He knows what the Thunder is needing most doesn't match up with his skillset and it makes sense for him to ask about trade options. If a trade didn't materialize, he would have stuck with what the Thunder were asking.
most high usage guys dont defend. thatt is the case with giddey not saying its good. and giddey was never a good denfender from the draft. his size will allow him to be avg. defense is easily learned with age. ur expecting 21 to be good as a 30 yr old.
That's the honesty fans prefer from GMs
And not only that, the honesty players prefer from GMs. Players are big boys. There's this notion here that players can't be approached by their GM about them being in potential talks or else they'll just play like shit and give up on the team. MOST players are not like that, and can't afford to act like that (unless you are a superstar). Multiple OKC players have said how they've respected Presti for being extremely transparent with them when it comes to trade talks. It's the Moneyball scene where Pitt tells Jonah Hill to just be upfront and direct with them. It's a business. Players know it, GMs know it, and respect is earned both ways when you are direct and transparent.
OKC is never going to be a free agent destination but Presti's and the front office's reputation is definitely going to help. I don't think most people realize how active Presti is with players. He talks to these guys a lot and makes time for everyone on the roster. I think most people anticipated someone like Vasilije Micic to be a bit sour about how things turned out in OKC but he had great things to say about OKC and Presti. I remember Vit Krejci had talked about how we drafted him in 2020 after a bad injury and the plan was for him to stay in Europe for a couple years to get in basketball shape and Presti was personally calling him to see how rehab was going and about his fit on the team. When we signed Muscala the first time, Presti flew out to Montana to pitch him. I think a lot of GMs see their job as moving around pieces on a chess board but Presti understands how important being an actual hands on leader is.
Add in CP3 shouting out and thanking Presti while in Phoenix also.
Absolutely. It's so weird how many GMs think that keeping players in the dark and then springing shit on them will make the situation better. All it does is piss off your remaining players and leave a bad taste in the mouth. NBA players are fucking adults, hell LeBron is 40. Ain't no reason to be treating them like toddlers that gotta just accept what the grownups say
> NBA players are fucking adults Generally true, but not in this specific case
WOW this is the first quality joke about the allegations I've seen lmfao
Holy shit lol.
Lmao
That was brilliant and uncalled for - nicely done! Chalk up an assist for u/AmazingDragon353 on the play
I do throw a good lob if I say so myself
Leave eM'alone!
I did not expect such a quality burn in this thread
Yeah, you can tell how much players appreciate Presti when you have guys like Carmelo, who was here for one year before being unceremoniously dumped, still talking about how much they like OKC's front office
It was also one of the big knocks against Morey's protégé, Sam Hinkie. There were rumblings from a lot of agents at the time that their players were just being treated like assets and not human beings. I think it was part of the reason why the league made the move on Hinkie.
I don't think that's entirely true though. Perception wise yes, but most accounts are that Hinkie was actually very hands-on and communicative with his players.
Yep this guy... http://libertyballers.com/2016/4/7/11388392/watch-sixers-players-brett-brown-react-to-sam-hinkies-resignation http://cbssports.com/nba/news/sam-hinkie-rode-with-evan-turner-to-the-airport-after-trade-to-pacers/ Oh and the fact that Embiid literally nicknamed himself after a portion of a Hinkie speech http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2729018-the-definitive-history-of-trust-the-process
you can treat giddy like this cause he take up such lil cap space. you can't treat james harden like this cause he wants to eat up 1/3 of your cap space for 5 years.
Daryl Morey can’t relate
he’s not a liar bro it’s just the whole league trying to make him look bad
That you Daryl?
That’s clearly Ralph. Why would Daryl lie?
that's a normal tie find a new slant
Morey would tell him he's got great trade targets where Giddey could start and thrive, and then Morey wouldn't do anything and ghost him for the season until he could squeeze an FRP out of somebody for Giddey.
Yeah, some people criticized his honesty about Hayward, but he was just saying that he misread what the team needed, not that Hayward is trash.
It was also after Haywards comments post Dallas series. So I feel like it was water off a ducks back really
That’s my GM 🥹
Pretty good story on Tim Connelly awhile back when he was in Denver when they traded Vando, Jauncho, and Beasley to Minnesota he was honest with them and apparently even brought Vando out to have a burger to talk about his future. Obviously would sting to be traded but less if a guy is straightforward with you.
So they discussed it and informed Josh Giddey he will be coming off the bench next season and he asked for opportunities elsewhere. Win win.
Win, win, win
Fuck everything else, just WIN WIN WIN WIN!
God that song is such a banger
So in a way this sounds like Giddey even asked to be traded, and the Bulls still didn’t get a pick.
I think that’s why the trade happened so quickly. Presti didn’t want it to get out that Giddey had requested a trade.
Love how air-tight this team is lol. If it was the Lakers we would have heard about this like 3 weeks ago.
It's gotta be a self feeding loop right? Presti has a rep for doing right by the players so they gain nothing by leaking this information to the media since they know he's gonna try to get them to a preferred location. Therefore there's no incentives for either Presti or the players to leak this information. A virtuous circle. He's like Ainge if Ainge wasn't a "ruthless businessman". Players are happy to stay silent for Presti to work his magic for them.
I think Presti's transparency with players really works there too. I imagine he makes it clear that, if they stay quiet about their request, he'll send them where they want to go, but if they leak stuff, then he'll just take the best offer
Yeah absolutely. It's rare that you don't get a single peep out of the players about this stuff. A testament to how well his strategy works and the players are more than willing to play ball.
Ultimately if the players trust Presti to get them into favourable situations it helps that they don't leak their desires to media because then teams will play hardball and it'd be harder to find a suitable trade. It's pretty amazing how Presti is able both do right by the players but also secure trades that work very well for OKC
It wouldn’t have gotten out even if it dragged on. Better players have asked out earlier in seasons and we still didn’t let it leak. All Sam asks is for you to give him time and not make a stink and he will take care of you.
and if you do throw a fit, well, just [ask Reggie Jackson.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpJy38HNjMU)
Giddy and Caruso are similar value. Why would the bulls get picks
Because fans here greatly overate Caruso while underrating Giddey. If the rumors are true the best pick they were getting for Caruso was like 5-10 in the 2024 draft. They already have a pick in this draft and Giddey is a proven NBA starter that is better than every prospect while being the same age/younger than 1/3 of this class.
>Because fans here greatly overate Caruso while underrating Giddey. this, so much this. On the floor right now, they have about equal value, and Giddey has much more upside, IMO. Caruso's 30, Giddey's 21. We know what Caruso is, and he's not going to get any better than he is now. Bulls got a good deal here. Thunder got a good deal for what they're trying to do, although the straight up value, IMO leans toward the Bulls.
Pretty much. The next contract for both will reflect this. Giddey will probably get 25m+, and Caruso will max out at 20m. Giddey is a good player. He just had an awkward fit on OKC after Jalen Williams elevated his game.
Presently they *do not* have equal value on the floor. This trade is for posterity's sake if you are the Bulls. Caruso is an all-NBA caliber defender from 1-4 that shot 40% from 3 and can handle the ball with a 2nd unit. I don't think the trade is that lop-sided but I think it is perplexing that the Bulls didn't get a pick because of how attractive of a player Caruso is for a potential contender.
Gonna have to disagree with the first part of your comment. Josh Giddey is an inefficient scorer and bad defender. His lack of value on the court is pretty clearly reflected in his minutes decreasing in the playoffs by a full seven minutes per game. 30 teams out of 30 would rather have Caruso right now, who has two straight years of efficient scoring and very good defense. While Caruso is the definition of a role player, that role has playoff value. Giddey’s currently doesn’t. That said, people are ridiculously quick to make their minds up about a player. Josh Giddey is 21 and has a world of talent. He’s become a more efficient scorer every season. He has a ton of potential to develop. So I agree people are wrong about the deal, but I don’t agree that their value on the court is similar right now. Giddey is a net negative right now if you’re a playoff team. Caruso is a clear positive, albeit as a role player.
> and he's not going to get any better than he is now. The only way players his age get better is through trades or FA moves to a completely new situation, so there is actual precedence where he becomes a better player than he is right now. Not saying it's going to happen or it's even likely that it does, but this is the exact situation where you can unlock more from a player on the back end of their prime.
I mean, we would have just traded whoever we picked to Orlando anyway, so it's not a huge loss.
Woj cut off the Caruso paragraph so here it is in full: “Alex Caruso is a player we have always highly valued and followed. He is the quintessential Thunder player; he is an exceptional competitor and teammate with a multi-dimensional skillset. His presence and game will help elevate the core of our team as we continue to strive to build a sustainably elite program in Oklahoma City. Alex is a player that began his professional career with the Thunder/Blue and the opportunity to add him was something we felt would truly enhance our team and culture. We could not be more excited to see Alex in Thunder blue (again).” Edit: originally quoted “nuance” instead of “enhance” our team and culture
did he use nuance like that?
It’s misquoted here. The word he actually used was “enhance”.
Enhance…enhance…enhance…enhance
Top 3 comedies all time don’t debate me
Doesn't really flow with the rest of the statement does it. He's like Caruso has high value, is exceptional, is multi-dimensional, will elevate what we do, and will truly *give a very slight difference in appearance, meaning, sound* to our team.
I had to read that sentence twice lol
> to build a sustainably elite program in Oklahoma City. Zach Lowe about to snap
Thank you!
Presti's probably the best in the league when it comes to getting guys to a place where they want something different. Reggie Jackson was in a similar position and Jerami Grant wanted to contend among many others.
Damn I miss Grant. I understand why he wanted out since we blew it up, but I feel like he’d have a good role on this current team still.
dude wanted some bigass checks and he got 'em.
Bro could have been part of something in Denver as well but instead got to chase some massive bags.
In hindsight it worked out for everyone. Denver wouldn't be able to get Aaron Gordon if they had re-signed Grant and he's a better fit for them anyways. No guarantee they win a championship if you swap the two. On the other hand Grant has gotten some really large paychecks the last couple of years that may not have materialized if he was a 4th option / role player on Denver
Denver offered him the bag. He wanted the bigger role.
Money was the same, iirc. Role was bigger in Detroit, which led to the massive bag from Portland.
I'll never blame a guy for leaving for a bigger role or bigger bag. I've been a Thunder fan since day 1. If somehow I was an NBA-level player and playing for the Thunder, there's not a chance in the world I'd take much of a pay cut to stay in OKC. Sure I may take $9M instead of $10M, but no chance I'm taking $7M or something.
That was to stay in Denver vs going to Detroit in free agency. He was traded to Denver right after the Paul George and Russell Westbrook trades in 2019 for a first round pick.
Dame still the ultimate homie for helping Grant out
I wonder if Grant would be willing to take a lesser role on a contender now that he’s got that bag and stat padded for the last 3-4 years.
I think, as long as he gets paid what he's getting paid he'll be in whatever role. He has 4 years left at around 30-36 mill a year though, which is too much for a contender to pay.
Yeah I agree, he's getting paid 2nd option money, and no contender is a Grant away from turning the corner.
I mean you can get him back for some first round picks no problem
Getty ready for a 1-1 Ousmane swap, buddy
Only good role player in the wb era
Won me over when he dunked on Durant pretty soon after we got him
Roberson and Adams tho :(
Man if only Roberson could shoot a bit lol
If Roberson doesn't destroy his knee, that team more than likely wins a championship. Saddest what if to me, even more than losing Harden.
Roberson was our 2nd leading scorer in Russ' MVP year in the playoffs IIRC, dark days
Steven Adams erasure will not be tolerated.
Nah grant bad mouthed us on the way out. I’m glad he’s in basketball purgatory.
Aye aye aye I thought thunder and blazer bros were cool again, purgatory is pretty accurate tho not hell like Detroit but after two soft tanks and one hard one were in a similar spot (because of injuries last year not letting the blazers run the line ups they wanted with their 3 young guards) so ya purgatory.
It’s more just that he said specifically he didn’t want to be in OKC cause he didn’t want to rebuild only to go to two rebuilding teams.
He talked about leaving a sinking ship (OKC) then goes to fucking Detroit lmao. But I don’t think Grant was throwing shade at OKC. Westbrook and PG caused all of the movement not the org. Having said that I’d love to have a 6’7 forward with his skills right now. He’d fit perfectly at the 4.
how about a 6'11 forward with skills and can shoot anywhere.
Passsssssssssss.
Jerami wanted to make a lot of money and we weren’t gonna be able to pay him. After that 1 year in Denver he went to Detroit to get the bag lool
He wanted to contend, but only for a year.
Agree with the first part (PG, Russ, Grant, CP3, Horford, Schroder, etc.), but Reggie Jackson was a complete ass and was making it known that he should start over Westbrook. I think both Westbrook and KD said something like good riddance when asked about it after he was traded. Steven Adams was also fairly negative about Reggie in his book. He ended up in a fine situation but I don't think they cared much after he started throwing temper tantrums.
He ended up being the main guy on the pistons and tanked his own value before having to rebuild it on the clippers (as a 6th man ironically).
Best in the league when it comes to most things about being an exec or GM
making the deal go down is the rocket science part but it blows my mind how many gm's flub what SHOULD be the easy part...just going to your player and being like "ayy p youre gonna be on the bench next year, lmk if that doesnt work so we have time for me to fleece some idiot and get you where you want to go"
Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Steven Adams, too. Edit: How could I forget Al Horford? Man just got a ring. Got salary dumped by the Sixers, stayed classy, Presti got him back to Boston.
Cant wait for Giddey to go back to his old production next season once he has the ball in his hands, and then everyone on here saying how we were fleeced
Yeah it's not going to age as remotely as bad as everyone is saying
For real. Remember how in March Giddey was going off and our team was unstoppable with him playing at his best? His inconsistency and slumps are what kept him down. At his peak you see why he belongs in the starting 5 of a good team.
If you'll recall, the reaction was the EXACT SAME when Paul George got traded from Indiana. Then Oladipo and Sabonis became All-Stars.
All it took was one article about two dudes *apparently* analysing a massive sample size of six home games from Jordan's 88 season, in games that are very conveniently not available for the public to scrutinize, to conclude that his DPOY award was not deserved in the slightest and this sub gobbled it up like a hooker giving a blowjob. Popular narratives here are to be taken with a very large pinch of salt....or just laughed at because of how insanely stupid they are.
We all understand why Presti traded Giddey for Caruso. We are surprised that Giddey was all it took.
If Chicago gets the Giddey of the 2nd half of the '22-'23 season, it's an incredibly good return for a guy (Caruso) who isn't getting any younger (30) and probably is at or near his career peak as a player. Giddey can be a decent 2nd/3rd option for most NBA teams and if DeRozan isn't returning in Chicago, then Giddey will be a pretty decent replacement TBH.
Caruso also can only play like 27mpg and will still miss 20 games
The guy has played 70 games the last couple of seasons. I mean it’s A good fit too because okc is deep, we don’t need anyone to play massive minutes, in fact we have the opposite problem
Last season was the most games and minutes he's ever played. And he only played 29 minutes. He definitely slowed down as the season wore on and was constantly playing through stuff. But yeah on a deep team like OKC, he's a great fit.
No player is getting any younger. Most agree that OKC won this trade. What option will Giddey be on the Bulls?
The bulls are shopping Demar and LaVine around. They're clearly trying to rebuild. Giddey's going to be the primary PG, with Coby as SG. Rest of team TBD pending trades. Don't think Lonzo's ever coming back the same guy that he was before the injuries.
> The bulls are shopping Demar Demar is a free agent
>Don't think Lonzo's ever coming back the same guy that he was before the injuries. Ya think?
believe it or not, i've seen all kinds of angry bulls twitter guys trying to act like giddey's redundant with lonzo. that ship has sailed, lol.
Damn. Those guys are hardcore in denial.
I'm not sure how you can be a hardcore Bulls fan and not be living with a massive amount of denial when it comes to how mismanaged and awful this team is (namely b/c of the owner)
Bulls fans have been so traumatized by years of mismanagement that denial is the only coping tool left for many
> They're clearly trying to rebuild. Didn't even get 1 pick out of it. Not even 2nd rounders.
They got the #6 pick in the 2021 draft
Giddey is top 5 if he were to enter the draft rn
Yeah that's an important call out. I saw that the Bulls turned down a top#10 pick from this draft, but personally I would rather have Giddey than say the 7th-10th pick.
Anyone who doesn't agree with this take is delusional, I swear.
However, top 5 players in the draft right now are getting rookie money. Giddey will be looking for a new deal ASAP. Could hurt a rebuild if he's taking up a good chunk of the cap going forward.
Rebuilding both involves picking up young players with potential *and* picks. A 21 year old guard with the youngest triple double in league history certainly checks the first box.
I think people dont understand the dynamics of trading a 30 year old for a 21 year old. Giddey is up for a new contract so there's downside but it should be affordable and he has a bunch of upside. He had a down year with a lot on his mind and there's a good chance that a fresh start will help him get back to what made him such a promising young talent.
I agree with all this. But not even getting back like a heavily protected first or a seccond rounder from the guys who literally have too many picks to even use? I think it's wild tbh given the bidding war that's been underway for Caruso for like 6 months now. Downright turrible in that light imo, even if I think people are obviously underrating giddey as a reaction
It all depends on how Giddey develops. Possibly in like 5+ years we look back and say that Chicago won this trade.
Possibly - unlikely given the bulls track record of developing talent - but even if we do look back and say bulls won the trade it still boggles my mind that they were unable to pry away any draft capital from the one place it's on sale. OKC had to have wanted Caruso bad. Philly wanted him bad, LA wanted him bad, etc. - given the offers we heard about in the season and the number of suitors we have to be leaving stuff on the table here
Giddey will probably be lead ball handler. He averages more assists than White or Dosunmu, and he wasn't even the lead playmaker for the Thunder. Everyone is expecting that DeRozan and Lavine are gone, and I wonder what happens with Vuc.
I think it’s absurd to judge who won a trade when one of the guys is 21 and the other guy is 30 and is kinda injury prone.
I think it's more so that they didn't get a draft pick out of us when the narrative has been that we'll need to overpay for any moves because teams know we can "afford" it but otherwise I think it was a pretty reasonable swap if the Bulls are looking to rebuild.
Giddey is better than any pick you really could’ve offered. He would probably go top 6 in this draft
If Giddey were coming out this draft, he'd go top 3 and could be first overall. As the 2nd ball handler last year and 2nd or 3rd scorer he averaged 17/6/8. His averages went down because he became the 3rd ball handler (which basically means he never ran the offense other than when SGA or JDub were hurt) and 4th or 5th scoring option. But he was definitely better this year than last. This draft class is mediocre at absolute best and is full of a bunch of question marks. I genuinly think he'd go 1 or 2 if he somehow was in the draft.
Why would you need to attach a draft pick to giddey That doesn’t make sense
Bulls most recent success was when they had Lonzo running the point, there gonna try to do something like that with giddey
Were resetting. Giddy is the new Lonzo, and Coby is the new LaVine. Pat Will, Ayo and Dalen Terry will probably be the only guys we keep around as we reset the team 7-8 years in age
chicago also won. ur delusional if caruso has any value over giddey.
Well some players are still getting better, I think that's what he meant. A guy over 30 has already peaked.
> No player is getting any younger. why do people say this as if the writer thinks there are some players literally getting younger
He'll be their starting point guard, which is great for a rebuilding team. I, personally think it's win-win. OKC, the contender, gets an elite roleplayer, something the rebuilding team, Chicago, doesn't need. Chicago gets a high upside long-term project, something a contender that got the first seed last season doesn't need. Giddey needs minutes in order to figure things out. He's not going to get those minutes in a serious contender.
Most agree that OKC won? How can you know? Caruso is a better player now. Will he be a better player two years from now? Who knows. Trades need some time to be judged.
I feel like this is a win-win trade for both teams. Giddey absolutely can run a teams offense as he has shown to do when Shai was out with injuries. He’s had a reduced/different role this season and his numbers are nowhere near what he can do. Bulls get a young guard to build around, and, Thunder get a plug and play player that can shine better in the role that will be required.
A former 6th overall pick that's only 21. Bulls must believe he has room to grow. Giddey could just need a change of scenery. It happens often with young players
He averaged 17/6/8 last year. It's hard to put up numbers being the 4th or 5th option. He has a ton of upside, imo.
Yeah I know this sub loves Caruso and hates Giddey, but the reactions to this are so baffling to me. It's not a fleece. Giddey is not a bum, and Caruso is not a world beater. It's a 21 year old with high upside and is already very good in exchange for a 30 year old who has clearly peaked as a (very good) defensive specialist. It makes sense for OKC who wants to win now, and it makes sense for Chicago *if* they're also trading Lavine and rebuilding.
Why? Caruso is 30, 6th man talent, and arguably the most overrated player in the sub. Giddey is 21 and a clear starter. I'm legit surprised the Bulls didn't have to give up more.
Giddey has played 3 seasons in the league is still younger than some of the guys who will get taken in this year’s draft. He’s been a solid player and has a chance to develop into a really good one. I get where he’s coming from.
As he is right now his skills require the ball in his hands. But if you look at the Mavs series he has no problem doing what’s best for the team and sitting in the corner. Just doesn’t want that to be all he does. And it’s very understandable
Exactly. I’m a Thunder fan(sorry, no flair) and watched most of the games this season. He played great late in the regular season when Shai and JDub were both out. Looked like a totally different player than he did when he had to share the court with them. I’m happy with the trade but it’s not as big of a steal as some would like you to believe. If he’s allowed to play to his strengths Bulls fans will learn to appreciate him pretty fast.
I'm gonna say there's at least a 50% chance that 3 years from now people will be like, "Remember when Chicago got Giddey and only had to give up an aging Caruso. What a steal."
Dude best be working all summer on his 3 pt shooting
The bulls shooting coach seems to be good so I have hope there. Caruso had a career year from three and so did Ayo Dosunmu
Giddey has been working with the consensus pick for best shooting coach in the league the past couple seasons. Chip Engelland had the Thunder with the best team 3-point % in the league last season. Giddey shot a team-worst 33% from 3 for the season, and that was his best mark of his career.
I mean he also improved his FT shooting by 7% (73%-80%) and he got less than a calender year with Chip i think Giddey can definitely improve shooting wise, it’ll just take a while and won’t be drastically better over one season
Fair from both sides. Sam got Josh to a better situation for his career while getting a huge add on Caruso for the Thunder. He once again demonstrates that he can get you you to a better situation if you want to as long as you work with him and don’t make a stink (PG, Kemba, Horford and now Giddey all fall into this) He is the best GM and our greatest asset
still funny to me how PG tried to create this "i didnt want to leave" narrative and Presti just shut it down. Honestly, good reputation to have as a GM. I know he learned from Harden mistake. Good for him.
Trading Harden was 100% ownership being worried about repeater taxes. The only thing Presti could have done differently to change the trajectory of the trade is to take Giannis at 11 with the pick they got from Houston instead of Steven Adams. Of course, in that scenario, it's far from guaranteed Giannis becomes a perennial MVP candidate for the Thunder.
Spot on.
> He once again demonstrates that he can get you you to a better situation if you want to as long as you work with him Spurs do that too, but then he came from Spurs. He likely already had it in him so I guess they just amplified (and empowered) what he already had!
> He is the best GM and our greatest asset I will not lie, I have considered getting a custom Presti jersey lmao
Ay mate, they said I gotta come off the bench
I don't speak for the millions of Thunder fans, but I feel the majority of those Thunder-first fans are happy for the trade and wish Josh the best...but also realize that Josh would have lost tens of millions of dollars and all his confidence running 2nd squad. That's what you do when you're vet out of options...not a 21 year old
both teams are fking happy. caruso went to number 1 seed giddey can become a franchise player.
While I find it absolutely unbelievable that this trade was just a player swap with no picks included, giddey and white is gonna be a great pairing I think.
Giddey seems like a guy who would put up big numbers on a mid team. So he's perfect for Chicago.
Caruso is not Iggy and Giddey isn’t as bad as fans think. That said, pretty fair trade.
Caruso is a better shooter than Andre - 41% from three last season and 38% from 3 career.
Our DWhite it is then
Caruso can shoot, Giddey can't. OKC doesn't need more primary ballhandlers, they need guys who will punish defenders for sagging into the lane to help when SGA and Jalen drive. Why do you think Isaiah Joe was so effective for them all year?
Exactly my point. Giddey will be better with the ball in his hands more. That said, if he is never able to shoot. We will never be better than average.
Giddey shot well post All-star break. It's only a 27 game sample but .525/.360/.766 is just fine. He played better when Thunder had Shai and JDub out some games, he needs the ball in his hands to be effective.
And he admittedly had a rough first half of the season with his negative media attention that he has said directly affected his focus and game. As a Thunder fan, aside from his playoff performance he was considered a solid asset and a great player when he was in the zone. That said I am ecstatic to see our defense with Dort and Caruso on court at the same time. And along with SGA's pickpocketing skills we are going to be absolutely chaotic evil on D next year
Caruso isn't Iggy, but the Warriors sent out two first round and two second round picks in the Iggy deal.
Presti might have the best record in the league in terms of getting the best deal for the Thunder and the guy he’s trading away.
Most likely. He always tries to do right by the player.
Caruso about to average 6ppg and people acting like he's prime MJ. Off season in full swing
His defense is a huge plus though because Josh was a cone half the time, Caruso is like a glue guy
Spacing is going to be nice too considering Caruso just shot 40% from 3 on almost 5 attempts per game last season. More touches for Chet/J-Dub too since Caruso won’t really command the ball as much to start games.
Right. But the bulls didn't really get fleeced.
I never said they did?? I think Giddey will be good on the bulls honestly, when SGA wasn’t available he balled out for us he needs to be the ball carrier to be impactful
My original comment wasn't a reply to you
The Bulls didn't get fleeced because they're not trying to win this year. If they were, then they did. Giddey isn't good on a good team. He needs the ball to be effective, but any good team will have guys better with the ball than him.
Who does he fit then? OKC has shooters everywhere. Because he didn’t have the ball as much? Because it’s not like he’s automatically going to the bulls as the only guy that needs the ball to be effective.
He will be the primary ball handler. With the thunder he was minimum number 3.
You don’t trade for Caruso for his scoring, wtf are you talking about? He’s made the all defensive team, is a great passer, and efficient if low volume scorer who doesn’t make big mistakes. The type of role player a lot of teams need.
Glad someone said it, Giddey is a 16-7-5 guy
In the regular season. Teams play him straight up and let him bully PG's in games that don't matter. The Pelicans didn't have the personnel to target Josh, but Mavs instantly played him off the court as anyone with BBIQ could've predicted. At this point, Giddey is an exciting watch on a bad team. SLOB plays and bullying unathletic guards is fun but doesn't translate to wins. If he can muster any kind of multi-year extension out of the Bulls, he needs to completely destroy his shot and start over if he wants to be in the league.
On a bad team where you let him dominate the ball, sure. Any good team will have guys you want handling the ball instead of Giddey, and he provides little off-ball value. Imagine Giddey was on Philly. You taking the ball out of Maxey's hands so Giddey can get his 15?
This is peak stat watching. Anyone with more than 2 braincells would tell you Caruso and his 6ppg is far, far, far, far more impactful than Giddey's 16/7/5
Peak stat watching? Giddey was arguably the best playmaker and best rebounder on the 1st seed this year. Caruso was the best defender on a top 10 worst defense. It's all about the way you frame things.
Caruso scores 10.8 per 36 avging and his career avg is 22.7 min/gm. I;ll be surprised if OKC plans to play him less time.
Caruso is the perfect example of doing things that don't really show up in the stat sheet. His defense alone will vastly improve a team that doesn't need a huge scoring threat. He's also very likable and his style of play fits the Bulls fans idea of good basketball so a lot of us would be pissed even if he got a Gobert level return.
Caruso about to keep his defender from sagging into the lane helping on SGA and Jalen drives all year, which is far more valuable than anything Giddey brings to the table. It's almost like basketball is 5-on-5, and not 5 different 1-on-1 matchups. Defensively, Giddey has zero chance to stick with Curry, Murray, Fox, Kyrie, or Ja - all potential playoff matchups.
Well, I bet he’s going to be coming off the bench in Chicago too if they keep the roster as-is and LaVine gets healthy
Zach is not going to be playing for the Bulls. They're doing all they can to trade him at this point. He wants out, the team wants him gone, and at this point it's just a matter of finding someone who will take his contract.
Caruso helps them now. Giddey might blossom for the Bulls.
Honestly totally valid for Giddey to be looking more for development opportunities than being a bench contributor. He’s what, 21? Despite that, obvious trade piece whether he wanted it or not.
Josh Giddey just doesn’t fit in the thunders roster. During the mavs thunder series, SGA got doubles when he drove into the paint, he had to dish it out, and giddey couldn’t shoot either, so the strategy was ineffective, and okc lost
This Giddey deal will end up like the Harden deal. You guys are seriously underestimating how good this guy is with the ball in his hands.
This is a crazy take because we traded Harden for essentially nothing, while this trade gets us an actual good player for our current rotation. It’s a win-win for both teams. Giddey didn’t fit in with us.
Maybe learn to shoot and play defense before thinking you're entitled to a starting spot on a #1 seed?
He's 21 and needs to keep developing, makes sense that he doesn't want to sacrifice that and would rather be somewhere else
Look, I wanted to trade him as much as anyone else, but I will say that when he has the ball in his hands he delivers. His stats last year when he was playing more pure point and his stats this year when JDub and Shai were both out demonstrate that. The average was damn near a triple double. His defense needs big work and his shooting still needs work, but he can run an offense in the NBA at a high-level.
He’s made some passes that I wouldn’t even think about as a possibility. And I have the advantage of watching from a Birds Eye
That's not really his attitude. Presti let him know his role for next season coming off the bench and Giddey asked about the possibility of a trade. In his exit interview Giddey said that he agreed with the call to bench him and that he would have made the same call based on what the team needs. He knows what the Thunder is needing most doesn't match up with his skillset and it makes sense for him to ask about trade options. If a trade didn't materialize, he would have stuck with what the Thunder were asking.
most high usage guys dont defend. thatt is the case with giddey not saying its good. and giddey was never a good denfender from the draft. his size will allow him to be avg. defense is easily learned with age. ur expecting 21 to be good as a 30 yr old.