The Chicago Bulls have just traded their two-time All-Defensive guard.
Chicago is sending Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Josh Giddey, according to a breaking report from Adrian Wojnarowski. Full details of the trade have not yet been released.
Wojnarowski reported on Thursday that “the trade delivers the Thunder one of the league’s most coveted role players, a 30-year-old guard who GM Sam Presti has long pursued for the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed. Caruso’s arrival could be seen as an addition comparable to the Golden State Warriors acquisition of Andre Iguodala in 2013. Both were 30 years old.”
On Giddey, Wojnarowski wrote that “the Bulls have been determined to find a playmaker to replace Lonzo Ball, and Giddey, 21, comes with an All-Star potential that would unlikely be realized with the Thunder because of the playmaking starpower who surrounded him. The Bulls will offer him an opportunity to have the ball in his hands and so much more freedom pass and score.”
Caruso is entering the final year of his contract, for which he is owed $9.9M. Though Caruso would have been due for an extension this summer as a member of the Bulls, that eligibility will now be forwarded to six months from the date of his trade to Oklahoma City.
Wojnarowski reported that Oklahoma City “made the trade with the hope to have Caruso as an integral player for the long-term.”
Giddey provides Chicago with a young, talented playmaker who also brings excellent size for position. A 6-foot-8 lead guard, Giddey has averaged 13.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game for the Thunder in 210 regular-season games so far in his career.
As the Bulls are still waiting to see whether Lonzo Ball will make a full recovery and re-enter the lineup, Giddey is expected to log heavy minutes as a featured member of Chicago’s rotation next season.
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