OKC Thunder Trade Josh Giddey to Chicago Bulls for Alex Caruso

OKC Thunder Trade Josh Giddey to Chicago Bulls for Alex Caruso

on today’s locked on Thunder podcast the Oklahoma City Thunder trade Josh gy to the Chicago Bulls what comes next you are locked on Thunder your daily Oklahoma City Thunder podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day let’s get it going on the lockdown Thunder podcast on the lockdown podcast work your team every day I am your host me member and inside the Thunder beat Rider Ryland Styles follow me on Twitter rinor Styles follow the show on Twitter L thunderpod on today’s show brought to you by prize picks Today’s Show is price price pick it’s the easiest most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports go to price.com locked innba use code locked in NBA all lowercase for the first deposit match up to $100 we’re talking Josh giddy getting traded to the Chicago Bulls this news quite literally broke five minutes ago immediately made the background hopped on the Pod and here we are so this podcast uh is is going to be dated at 4:20 we’ll see what happens uh you with the full package coming out if this is the full package uh in its entirety but right now uh right now the Thunder of traded Josh giddy to the Chicago Bulls for Alex Caruso and and he is eligible cruso is for a four-year approximately $80 million extension six months from this trade the thunder made this trade with the hopes of Caruso being a longterm player so it sounds like the Thunder will want to give kuso that extension in six months that’s according to W so again I just read that like that second as I just dated the spot at 420 so we’re still going to get stuff on the Fly therefore this will be the initial reaction pod we’ll have many many many more pods uh on this topic now let’s look at this trade so why did the Thunder trade Josh giddy right now I think that it was you were able to read it through the tea leaves which is what we said on this podcast after the exit interview of it’s kind of strange that Sam prey kept reiterating how the Thunder did not have to sign Josh KY this summer whenever his past history tells you he does not let guys hit restricted free agency and so when you blend that together with there’s no real Pathway to just run it back like the the the actualized version of Josh giddy you it sounds simple to just put him on the bench and let him run the show because he can’t do that in the starting lineup however in the modern NBA whenever you are mix and matching and staggering lineups there’s still no way for Josh giddy to run the show in Oklahoma City so it’s not fair to him and that’s why on this show we’ve been talking about how it’s a two-sided situation like the Thunder and Josh giddy can both like each other can both hope that this worked out but at the end of the day you’ve got to do what’s best for you and I think that Josh giddy will go on especially with Billy Donovan and the Bulls if they if they see him obviously as a player that they’re coveting like they’re GNA put him in a role that’s best for him you put Josh giddy on the ball you put Josh gidy in in a situation that is made for his skill set I fully believe Josh giddy will have a very you know long and very you know accomplished NBA career like I think he’ll be a good NBA player but sometimes you can be a good NBA player and not a good fit for your environment we see this happen constantly and so entering the last year of his deal why would Josh giddy want to play for a franchise that’s not going to be putting him in a position and that can’t put him in a position to maximize his skill set thus not maximize his earning potential so from the Josh giddy standpoint I would assume that while it’s hard to leave your friend and your first organization behind I would assume that that he welcomes this change and from a thunder standpoint you absolutely got a much better fit for your roster in Alex Caruso you got a a much better fit your roster so you swap one uh guy who’s on the last year of his deal that doesn’t fit your roster for another guy who’s on the expiring deal that does fit your roster with the hopes of resigning him according to w now that’s all the Josh goody stuff and we’ll do more Josh goody stuff later but let’s talk about Alex kuso again this is just the initial pod we have so much more to talk about that we can get to once we get our head around this whole trade Alex Caruso he makes $9.8 million this year and then he’s extension eligible in six months before his unrestricted free agency so that’s a big kicker the Thunder are going to really have to extend him in six months I think if they’re going to want to keep them as a part of their long-term future which wo says that they do because once you hit unrestricted free agents all bets are off the cap going up and there’s teams that are going to be desperate to improve and Alex Caruso is one of those players that can fit any roster like Alex cruso is a chameleon like he can change his stripes to fit your roster and fit like a glove because you can never have too many Alex Caruso so what what Alex Caruso is is 30 years old like that that is that is an older more veteran lated player who’s won an NBA championship albe it in the bubble but he’s played with of course like LeBron and all these other great players in La then with Chicago you you are very familiar with him Alex cruso because he played with the blue so like internally within the organization you know what he’s about and that’s the the key part of all of this is like the connections and the and the trust that you would you would hypothetically have and a kuso given that you made this trade and given that he’s been in your organization before but you know kuso 65 566 you know 186 and he is immediately going to help an already top five defense uh get even better he’s two times on the all defensive team and now you can run out a unit of Shay Caruso Dort job chett and it’s it’s unfathomable like how you can score on that team and Caruso shoots 40% from Beyond The Arc all defensive team 40% from Beyond The Arc and this play finisher next to these high-gravity guys and these guys that that are going to help him defensively make him look even better defensively it’s impossible not to love this move for Oklahoma City they they do not completely change their identity they do not throw a curveball into what they’ve already built Caruso fits what this Thunder team is all about like a glove I mean I mean you look at what he was able to accomplish with Chicago as a spot up you know score he averaged a point per possession in transition 1.1 points per possession anything above a point per possession is just great as a cutter 1.2 points per possession uh in the pick and roll 1.1 like I think he’ll be used more as a screen and pop guy in OKC which like he only had 16 field goal attempts in that scenario with the bulls uh but I think that screen and Pops might be something that they can unlock in OKC as as Mark is able to do but the big kicker here is a 40% three-point shooter who can play defense like you think of what they asked of Josh giddy they asked him to help out on the glass which uh you know give it his frame he was able to do albeit inconsistent effort and so like whenever he gave effort he was really good at it when he didn’t give effort he was not good at it uh so like he he did help on the glass and that was massive but other than that everything else they asked him to do was unfair to Josh and was something that Josh could not do they asked Josh to sit in the corner and uh be a catch and shoot guy he can’t do that and that’s not a slight to Josh skidy that is not his fault like that was never going to be his skill set now you’ve got a guy who that is the skill set on catch and shoot opportunities Alex cruso shoots 41% from the floor that’s the 84th percentile in points per possession on catch and shoot looks at The Rim he’s a good Rim finisher 59% he can attack off the catch and at least keep the ball moving and could acquire some hockey assists with with how good this Thunder team is so you really have only lost some of that Josh giddy rebounding help but you’ve gained an easier flow offensively you’ve gained a much better defense you’ve gained a really good play finisher and you’ve got to figure out how to make up for for the rebounds that Jos gidy could collect Now by that same token what did Josh giddy’s rebounds look like it wasn’t as though he was out skying people and out musling them he was in the right spot at the right time whenever he was locked in and engaged I can promise you that Al kuso will be locked in and engaged I can promise you that the motor and the effort concerns that sometimes wne for Josh Kitty if his offense didn’t go right that will never be a problem for Alex Caruso he is a first team member of the all juice team in the NBA like he’s gonna give you that effort and motor every single time and so without vich next to him without some of these Bulls next to him the ball is going to carry him his way and I think that he’ll be ready to uh you know somewhat you know negate the loss of uh giddy’s six rebounds per game compared to kuso’s three rebounds per game which again three rebounds a game next to vich next to next to Patrick Williams next to these guys like it’s pretty good like we talked about Patrick Williams as a potential Bulls Target and the reason that we kind of gave him a pass for his lack of rebounding is because of how much Lovich just sucks up as a rebounder how much Drummond just sucks up as a rebounder so I’m curious to see if he can like have a have a potential um you know higher uptick and of impact on the glass but maybe he can’t and then that’s still fine because of what he upticks you defensively what he upticks you as a as a three-point shooter especially the drive and kick opportunities that you can give Caruso it’s just going to be um fascinating to see how they all come together and the Thunder has have plenty of room to grow but what they’re building especially with this trade with with kuso is special and it’s special in a very particular Avenue that I’ll tell you about coming up but first I want to say you right now A bu friends over PR priz Pi check out prize pick today priz picks is great go to price.com loock innba that’s price.com loock in NBA and whenever you do uh you can use our code locked in NBA and you’re going to get an instant deposit match up to $100 it’s an instant deposit match up to $100 what’s so fun about prize picks is uh it’s the best way to play daily fantasy sports because you’re just simply uh looking at the projections and you and you project they have more or less than their prize pick projections that’s all there is to it so you’re not competing against other players who know more than you or these fantasy gurus that do this for a living it’s just you us to project the numbers you pick two to six players and you guess there that projection it’s good for the W it’s good for Major League Baseball uh the Stanley Cup 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throw at you lud Dort Alex Caruso right lud Dort Alex Caruso K Wallace Jaylen Williams SGA they have chat hren anchoring the whole thing when will you ever get a break when can you ever not look to the scores table and have the LeBron James kawh leard reaction when the Thunder are rotating in these fresh Defenders the Thunder have compiled an an infinity stone of Defenders to where there is no team on Earth that has enough go to primary put it all on me scores that will not be accounted for All 48 minutes and like that’s not even including guys like Wiggins who are who’s an underrated Defender That’s not including you know the uptick and defense from Isaiah Joe that’s not including you know whatever the rest of your rusher can become like this Thunder team I think will be the best defense in the NBA I think the center team will be the most you know harassment and pesky and frustrating defense to play against I I’m not sure how we can track this but I think that this Thunder team will create the most frustration fouls where the star player on the opposing roster is throwing a tantrum and they get it frustration foul or they get teed up for complaining or whatever like this thunder defense is going to accost you this thunder defense is going to just be the bane of your existence and we’ve already seen what this team looks like whenever they’re out in transition whenever they’re running uh and now they’ve added a 40% three-point shooter to the mix a 40% three-point shooter who uh you know has not gotten to play with teams that have this much gravity this much spacing this many open Catch and shoot looks like whenever you saw him thrive in Los Angeles there was five it was a it was an ability to to shoot 48% from three albe only two attempts per game you know 48% from three on two attempts a game in 1819 uh he had 40% from three uh in 2020 and 21 whenever he shot uh two and a half attempts per game and then last year he got to shoot 4.7 attempts per game and shot 40% from three it’s going to be so much easier on him to get these looks and and have more of these looks um as the as the time progresses in OKC so the Thunder trade in what has been their worst fit on a 571 team for an instant upgrade in in in almost every area now again we’ve been we’ve been excited about this move for the Thunder I know that there’s a lot of Australian listeners do not conflate this with like you know just just dumping on Josh giddy Josh giddy is going to have a good career and this is this is the best move for him like I know that he has a lot of friends in OKC I know that like uh you know he’s been great and and from interviewing him with the media like he’s he’s one of my favorite players to interview because he’s so open so candid so honest uh but this is gonna give him a chance to actually show how good he is and there’s a lot of people in OKC that maybe only watch Thunder games that doubt how talented Josh kiddy is Josh giddy is gonna be a very very very talented ball player it’s just not it’s just not going to be an OKC and it was never going to be an OKC real realistically and so we’ll see what the what the official trade package looks like we’re still um you know waiting on on that but you know Caruso played under Mark with the OKC blue now he’s back with Mark with the Thunder and um you know when whenever you look at at this trade I think it just Refirm to you how serious you know how serious that this ther team is and how aggressive that the center team is willing to be and I don’t think that they’re finished yet like I I don’t think that their plan is well let’s figure out the Jos kidy situation and then just you know sit on our hands right now maybe um you know nothing nothing else can materialize from from this Market but I think that they’re going to try like even after this trade the thunder only took on you know 1.5 million in salary so they can still creating salary 33.7 million this summer to clean up some of their deficiencies um you know wo just released the ESPN story I’m going to click on it right now and see if the full package is in there unless this was just a one for one swap um yeah I mean I mean the the report from W still only has Josh for Caruso listed so like a a one for one swap is something that you really like if you’re uh if you’re the Thunder and for the Bulls they clearly would rather extend Josh kidy and like go into a more youth movement and let Josh kidy play on the ball and and and facilitate things that way but uh this move was aggressive and it it got them what I think to be the best defense in the NBA I’d be shocked if they’re finished and maybe there’s maybe this was like the big one like this was the emergency pod uh three pods on this one topic type of move but but I still think that uh you know the the the roster spot uh will not go to waste here the open roster spots will not go to waste for OKC and I I just think that Thunder fans like knowing the type of fan base OKC has and and what they look for in players they’re going to instantly fall in love with Alex kuso Alex cruso is one of those guys who like if he’s not on your team you look around and wonder to yourself how can we land in Alex cariso you how how can we land you know a guy of his caliber to to kind of round out this roster but you know a pesky isolation Defender who who I think like I think will look even better defensively because of the talent around him the the the excitement level if you’re a thunder fan listening to the show could be really high so you still have the 12th overall pick to work with you still have $33 million in in cap space to work with this summer you still have a mountain of future draft assets to work with this summer and you got one of the League’s best defenders who shoots 40% from three pretty good it’s pretty good let’s talk about what this means for on the court is Alex cruso immediately going to be a starting level player for OKC we’ll talk about that coming up but first I want to say right now A about good friends over at LinkedIn check out LinkedIn right now because they’re the best job board out there they’re not just another job board they’re the job board because they understand what it’s like for a small business you want to find qualified candidates that you want to talk to and that are right for your role fast and in a hurry that’s why you want to check out LinkedIn jobs LinkedIn jobs has the tools to help you find the right Professionals for your team faster and free LinkedIn is not just another job board LinkedIn has a vast network of more than a billion professionals uh which makes the best place to hire LinkedIn it gives you access to professionals that you can’t find anywhere else LinkedIn does all that while making the process easy and intuitive hiring is easy whenever you have this many qualified candidates so easy in fact 80% of small businesses get a qualified candidate within a 24-hour period LinkedIn knows that as a small business owner you’re wearing so many hats uh that you know you you want to be able to uh hire quickly and that’s what you can do at LinkedIn jobs check it out today because 2.5 million small businesses already use LinkedIn for hiring go there right now post your jop for free at linkedin.com lnba that’s linkedin.com lnba terms and conditions to apply to post your job for free we’re back on the lockdown Thunder podcast on the lockdown podcast Network your teams every day thank you so much for making us your first listen every single morning every single day we here for you talking Thunder basketball well whenever you look at this trade I think it accomplished you know something good for Josh Kitty it accomplished something good for the Thunder what does it look like heading into the off season I honestly think that you just put Caruso in giddy spot like you put Caruso there it’s it’s Shay Caruso Dort dub Chad and then you flush out the rest of your rotation where you have uh you know you have Wallace you have Joe uh you know you have Wiggins you have Jay will and uh and kenrich and you stagger in you know dub and chat W with that secondary unit as well plus again you still have the 12 overall pick which we’re GNA have draft profiles and stuff all throughout the weekend but we had to interrupt our draft profile and draft coverage for the annual Sam prey pre-draft trade uh it happened a little later this year usually happens in the final and it’s just a a trade with Denver to kick a pick down the road but this time it’s an emergency pod worthy trade uh that that uh has a lot of you stirring so it’s very exciting uh to cover this team very exciting to to see all the comments that we’ve gotten already about um about uh wanting an emergency pod and everything else but um you know I think that whenever you look at this W even put in a story that like they they want to see chat be more of a playmaker um you know cruo can do a little bit of playmaking uh but obviously you do lose the the playmaking chops of Josh like Josh has the potential to be as a lead guard a very fantastic playmaker um for Chicago um but yeah I mean the the the responsibility was going to fall on those three guys and it always was going to fall on those three guys chat J and Sham I’m talking about so you’ve done your best to give them the best complimentary pieces like as as much as we just talked about um what this means for the defensive end what does this mean for the roster I want you to really back and ask yourself and I know we just saw Boston win the championship how many teams are building around a core three so like they already have their core three in place they already have their super duper Star and Shay like super duper MVP caliber guy in Shay should have won MVP this year then they have two rising stars and and JB and chett who none of us think are long for for um you know their first All-Star Bed and Beyond how many franchises have given those guys more resources like whenever you list out the compliment of pieces around them so take the top three guys and then off of that tree off that off that tree trunk of the top three guys you have Lou Dort Alex Caruso kenish Williams K Wallace you know you have Isaiah Joe you have Jay will you have Wiggins you have the potential for Jang you have the the potential for you know jaywen you have the potential for um you know the the the outcome of whatever the number 12 overall pick is like they’ve done a really really really good job of getting the complimentary pieces now it’s up to these young Stars Shay’s there Shay’s a Bonafide uh playoff Riser killer MVP all the superlatives you got to get chat there you got to get jadb there but the very moment that those guys officially take that leap which could happen as soon as October like the very moment those guys officially take that leap you have a championship level core around them I I I feel very confident in saying that like if if you if you told Executives like this is this is your complimentary pieces these are your these are your peripheral pieces can you build a championship core around these pieces they’d say yes you say these are your pieces plus $33 million in cash Bas plus a billion first round picks a billion draft picks in general they would say where do I sign I I will I will give my my proverbial NBA life away to get uh a crack at that and you just happen to have one of the smartest Executives in the sport um you know at the helm already with the with the stability of a really good coach the stability the stability of a good front office theil the stability of a a franchise that has good ownership that doesn’t medal or do anything kind of crazy it’s an exciting time and again this was an aggressive move the Thunder deserved a lot of credit because there was there was some some fear lingering around the Thunder fan base of like what if that was the only shot for the Thunder what if they just run it back and and sit on their hands and don’t do anything uh when in reality like that was never going to be what they were going to do and so whenever you cast all that on to this franchise and then they don’t do that they deserve a lot of credit for not doing that for not just running it back and everything and this was a tough move to make I’m sure like you invested a sixth overall pick in this guy who who who is so passionate about playing for your franchise that like he got choked up a little bit at his ex interview and I say that endearingly of like this guy cares man he cares he’s passionate he really wants to to make it work and and become a really good basketball player and ideally would have wanted to make it work in Oklahoma City like it is hard to make that decision emotionally so they deserve credit for doing that whenever they could have e easily casted it aside as well they’re already 57 win team let’s just try it again and see what happens but that complacency is not where you want to be this aggressiveness is where you want to be and if you’ve followed what what Sam prey’s done you know throughout his tenure as a GM which you have a pretty lengthy rapt at this point I struggle to think that this is going to be over like I struggle to think that this is like the end of it but even if if it’s just making the Toth overall pick like even if it’s just case you know you add in Caruso you add in the Toth overall pick wow you’re set up and you still have so many um you know so much luxury to go so it’s a Bittersweet day of course uh but wow this is going to be fun for the future uh this was an offthe cuff emergency pod full full and through so we’ll have a more organized show uh for you coming in the coming hours and and days and we’ll spend a long time talking about this uh and and recapping this move recounting this move especially but thank you so much for listening thank you so much for caring um about my opinion to where you you would want to hear about it and ask me about the emergency pod we have just finished recording it it’s going to be uploaded ASAP but again thank you so much uh subscribe anywhere you get your podcast from and until next time be good and be good to one another

The Oklahoma City Thunder have traded former No. 6 overall pick Josh Giddey to the Chicago Bulls for Alex Caruso – how the OKC Thunder got a lot better by adding the defensive ace. Plus, what will Caruso be in Oklahoma City? The Thunder have the best defense in the NBA and how Sam Presti has built this group alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren will be studied and pay dividends for the Thunder in the future. Will Oklahoma City pull off another big move this offseason?

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