Wow, didn't see that coming

WOJ sometimes goes early with making announcements and can be wrong at times.

If correct I think it is good for Giddey playing wise, Bulls will initially lose the hustle and D of Caruso and he is loved in Chicago so I hope it is a good fit for Giddey.

Pity he couldn't stay with Thunder who have a very talented bunch of younguns developing together.

Not good.

He was an awkward fit at OKC.

When you're not a great three point shooter and can’t defend it’s hard to fit in most teams I guess.

Good pick-up for OKC

Guess the Bulls don't see Ball coming back and just looked for the first passing guard they could find.

OKC the real winners in this trade, but hopefully the Bulls will be a good fit for Josh. Lots to prove

This is good news for Giddey, he will no longer be played out of position due to playing next to SGA.

I think this shows his value. I think unless Giddey improves shooting wise, or somehow becomes a positive defender he is destined to be solid starter on a bad team or high level bench player on a good team at his ceiling.

Do OKC really need another three&D guy ?
I won't be surprised to see Alex packaged up and traded for a bigger younger athletic player.
And what draft picks do Chicago have, no 11 this year and no first round picks next year?
Unless Chicago blow up their roster, Chicago may not be a fun place to be for Giddy.

I forgot Aussie Damien Cotter was a Bulls assistant
With DeMar 35 and a free agent, Vucevic is 33,
Lonzo and Zach under injury clouds
I'd be blowing that team up for a rebuild
Which would be good for Giddey.

Sounds like the Bulls may be shopping LaVine too. Was a local Utah rumour that they asked the Jazz if they wanted LaVine and wanted Sexton + picks back as part of the deal.

"high level bench player on a good team at his ceiling"

I know you finished with "at his ceiling" but he barely got impactful bench minutes with OKC at the end. I reckon most teams will want a roleplayer with no defensive lapses/issues over more of a freelancer, but who knows.

But I otherwise agree with your comment. I think I said months ago that he could be destined to be a bit of a tank commander. Hopefully the change of scenery shakes off the last year and he gets some confidence back; he looked decidedly unhappy during the playoffs. I reckon without the pressure of contending, he'll rack up stats (whether hollow or not).

What do we think about this online comment about Giddey:

He'd be a top pick in this year’s draft... and he’s younger than a lot of the draft players.

To be honest a lot of people are saying this draft is if you removed the top 7 from an average draft, so it perhaps isn't the most ridiculous comment.

Giddey is always going to be an awkward fit whether it be OKC, Boomers or otherwise.

To be honest the best place for him would be the Spurs (as would be the case for just about any player!).

Pop would probably make him less weak on defence and if there’s one player in the league that can get utility from his passing and maximise Giddey’s skillset is Wembanyama.

Agree Spurs would have been great. But really until he can shoot at an ok clip from outside he will be limited.

"Do OKC really need another three&D guy?"

Can you have too many of them now?

Good to see some level headed, rational discourse about Giddey from Australians for once.

The way a lot of people in Australian basketball media talk about Giddey online is no different to how Filipinos talk about Kai Sotto - utter delusional.

Objectively speaking right now he doesn't play winning basketball, and certainly doesn’t fit with OKC/SGA.

Delusional is a bit of a stretch, the guy was in the starting 5 for most of the year. He is no hack.

Great pick up by OKC. All-NBA defender and can shoot the 3. Also doesn't need the ball in his hands. Dort, SGA and Caruso is the best defensive backcourt in the NBA. Complete switchability.

Giddey just needs the trust of his coach and minutes under his belt. passing ability is elite so give him the ball and the pieces around him.

Gotta disagree, Massive. If you're going to build a team around a mediocre shooter these days, he better be Giannis. Giddey is an absolutely top tier passer, but well below average at the two things OKC just traded him for - shooting and defence. He needs to do one of those things above league average level, and the other one at an average level, if he's going to be a long-term starter on a good team.

I think he's still a good shot to get there, FWIW. He's young, and seems both humble and driven. I don't think he's going to be cobbling together instagram videos of the 4 3-pointers he makes this off-season, at any rate. But I don't love the situation in Chicago for him to figure things out.

Presti's suggested that Giddey wasn't thrilled about coming off the bench and effectively asked to be traded. And they likely got the trade done quickly before this was leaked and his value dropped.

Cake, why don't you like Chicago for him? If they're shopping LaVine and moved Caruso, are they really going to try for the play-in again? I think he'll get ample chances, regain confidence and get stats at least.

I don't know what the direction is in Chicago. Sure, they're shopping Lavine, but what is the market for him? Almost everyone on Chicago's roster right now is best with the ball in their hands. The sorts of players Giddey fits best with are in high demand, and I don't know where Chicago gets a roster full of them in one off-season.

He'd be a great fit in Orlando, where there are a lot of guys who can shoot, create and defend, but no real full-time orchestrator. He fits their timeline, and you don't have to envision a franchise overhaul to see him playing a successful role there.

The Spurs, people have already identified as a good spot, I think Miami or New Orleans could be decent. And if he's going to a rebuilding team, I'd like to see him in Utah where I at least understand how they get to be good again.

Chicago should tank for Cooper Flagg/Ace Bailey.

Let Demar leave and trade Lavine.

Atleast they'll have a direction then.

Trading a defender for an offender.

Apparently OKC planned to keep him and have him run the second unit as 6th man- he wasn't keen and asked to be traded.

I think Giddey can still get to a point where he can be a lead guard on a good team, but he certainly isnt there yet.

The most obvious improvement he needs is shooting. If he became even just league average as a shooter he becomes a lot more dangerous. Any better than that and he's going to be a very good player. Then he just needs to compete defensively. His size and rebounding means they can move him down a couple of positions to defend which helps.

He's still very young and I think he'll get there with his shooting, eventually.

Saying all that, this was a good move by OKC.

They've got their two stars in Williams and SGA. Now its about putting elite role players around them and Caruso is one of those, so too Chet. Dort may be close, but his shooting can often let him down. They need to package some of their other young players and picks to find some more frontcourt help and probably now a good back up PG.

Had to start afresh. I think once you find yourself on the outer, it is damn hard to work your way back in. I am tipping he will overtake MJ as the greatest Bull ever by the time he retires........OKAY go away, I am joking but hopefully he can make it work.

Yeah he definitely needed a new start. He's not a plug and play kind of player. He needs the ball in his hands to be effective, but at OKC (and on a lot of other teams) there are guys you'd prefer to have the ball in their hands right now, so he needs to find the right fit to work out.

Thats why I (and lets face it most people) always thought the Spurs were a good fit. A generational big who can shoot means that Giddey could have just been the set up guy with heaps of shooters around them both.

Giddy is garbage