BREAKING: Trade mastery positions Thunder as a serious danger to the Celtics
At the start of the 2023–24 season, the Celtics are still the favorites to win the championship again, but one of their anticipated top rivals received a significant boost on Thursday. In a straight-up trade, the Oklahoma City Thunder obtained defensive mainstay Alex Caruso from the Chicago Bulls in return for Josh Giddey, 21. With this addition to the supporting group of the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference from the previous season, Thunder general manager Sam Presti has had an incredible start to the summer.
The trade has both positive and negative news for the Celtics. Among the numerous contenders that enquired about Caruso’s availability during last year’s trade deadline, the Celtics had him as one of their most sought-after players. After Chicago’s humiliating loss in the play-in round, the Bulls apparently rejected several first-round selection offers for Caruso, choosing instead to hang onto the 31-year-old veteran in anticipation of an eventual playoff run.
The Bulls’ decision to trade Caruso now signifies a shift toward youth and an awareness that their aging core isn’t helping them win in the Eastern Conference. Even again, considering the kind of offers the Bulls most certainly had on the table in February, it’s difficult not to be disappointed by their return. Rather than adding some draft capital, they get a young player who, with one year remaining on his rookie contract, is set for a significant raise next summer. He was exposed during the Thunder’s postseason run because of his inconsistent 3-point shooting (31 percent career).
Even though Giddey is only 21 years old and has a lot of potential, it seems like a huge mistake to give up one of the league’s most sought-after role players in order to get paid for his next big contract in a year.
In the meantime, the Thunder here landed Caruso, which achieved many goals. Given the agreements they will shortly be paying for the remainder of their youthful core, they weren’t going to be able to afford Giddey in the long run anyhow. More precisely, though, Caruso provides them with a 3-and-D player on the wing, which is a far greater necessity. They attempted to acquire Gordon Hayward, a player of that kind, during the trade deadline, but the seasoned player was unable to provide significant results after recovering from injuries. At this stage of his career, Caruso is the far more established asset, and the Thunder still have a ton of young players and draft picks as trade bait to add to their young stars.
Oklahoma City’s young, talented core is locked up, and they should only get better from here on out. They were one shot away from forcing a Game 7 against the Mavericks in the Western Conference Semifinals. Oklahoma City recently acquired one of the greatest role players available for a steep bargain, making them one of the few NBA teams that are well-equipped to add to their core. While the Thunder now have a better chance of being Boston’s main rival in the Western Conference next season, the Celtics can be relieved that they won’t have to deal with Caruso in the Eastern Conference any longer.