CHICAGO (670 The Score) – When the Bulls and Thunder agreed to a one-for-one swap last Thursday that sent veteran guard Alex Caruso to Oklahoma City and 21-year-old point guard Josh Giddey to Chicago, it raised eyebrows across the NBA.
That’s because the Bulls didn’t receive any draft capital in return while giving up the better, more established player in a trade with a Thunder organization that has a seemingly endless supply of extra picks. On Wednesday evening, Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas was directly asked why he couldn’t extract any draft capital from the Thunder in those negotiations.
In response, he took a big-picture view.
“I feel that this deal was fair,” Karnisovas said. “Both sides got what they wanted. What OKC accomplished, they got a guard that guards ... We went with Josh, who's still 21 years old and has been very productive. We're looking to the future. That was the rationale behind it. I think it was a good deal for both."
The Bulls rejected offers from the Kings and Knicks for Caruso, NBC Sports Chicago reported. The Kings were known to have the No. 13 overall pick in this NBA Draft on the table for the Bulls.
“That’s a trade we preferred over picks because it’s hard to acquire players this young, this productive that early in their careers,” Karnisovas said of landing Giddey over prioritizing draft capital. “Especially when he already has like 11 triple-doubles in his career. So we were just excited, and we thought that that was the price to pay for Josh.”
Giddey averaged 12.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 25.1 minutes across 80 games for the Thunder last season, when his role waned as guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander blossomed into a top-tier MVP candidate. Giddey averaged 16.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 31.1 minutes in 76 games in the 2022-’23 season. In Chicago, Giddey is set to be the starting point guard and a lead playmaker.
Later, Karnisovas did acknowledge letting go of Caruso was a steep cost.
“I’m happy that we were able to get this deal done and bring Josh to Chicago,” Karnisovas said. “Bringing a very talented guard that’s an elite playmaker and rebounder with elite size – his game is predicated on making everyone better around him. Those guys are hard to find.
“We were fortunate to get him, and he comes at the high price, which was AC.”
Cody Westerlund is an editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund .
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