Usachi
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Chicago Bulls are trading Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Josh Giddey. Caruso is an All-Defensive guard who has been in Chicago for the past three seasons after winning a championship with the Lakers in 2020 and has been the subject of constant trade rumors in recent years. The Bulls have rejected draft pick-focused offers for Caruso throughout his time in Chicago.
But Guidi is a former No. 6 overall pick who was desperately needed by the Bulls to get a fresh start. Guidi was a starter for Oklahoma City when he joined the team, but his inability to develop as a 3-point shooter made him a hard sell on a team that already had Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at point guard. His role was reduced throughout the postseason, and he was benched in the final two games against the Dallas Mavericks.
In Chicago, his fate may be tied to others. His weakness as a shooter will continue to hold him back if DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine return. He’s best suited as a full-time point guard and won’t get to work on the ball as long as DeRozan and LaVine are still there. With DeRozan set to become a free agent and LaVine himself in trade rumors, this move suggests the Bulls are ready for a bigger rebuild around Guidi and Most Valuable Player Award runner-up Coby White.
What about the Thunder? They bring back a role player who actually started his career in the Thunder organization. Undrafted Caruso spent his rookie year with the Oklahoma City Blue in the G League, then blossomed with the Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers and is now back in Oklahoma City as a championship role player.
Caruso is one of the best defensive perimeter players in basketball. He can guard almost every position except center and improved his 3-point shooting percentage to 40.8% last season. The Thunder earned the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference last season. Now, with their young players developing and a year of playoff experience, Oklahoma City is preparing to look forward to 2025.
