The Chicago Bulls trading for Josh Giddey
Over the past few years, the Chicago Bulls have operated on their own clock. While they have made some good moves, they've also made some incredibly head-scratching decisions. One of the latest could include their decision to trade Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey straight up. At last year's NBA Trade Deadline, there were whispers that teams were willing to part ways with multiple first-round picks for Caruso. But because the Bulls weren't ready to admit a rebuild was needed, they decided to hold onto Caruso.
Then, out of nowhere, the Bulls decided to trade Caruso (just a few months later) at the beginning of the 2024 NBA offseason for Giddey. It was an odd decision at the time and it still is. Ultimately, the Bulls clearly valued Giddey over the possibility of two first-round picks. And it's understandable. Giddey does have some All-Star potential and the NBA Draft is often a crapshoot. It would make sense for the Bulls to want an established player (with some star potential) over the uncertainty of a couple of extra selections in a future draft.
Why there may be regret
However, the move for Giddey has not paid off much for the Bulls so far this season. Giddey has been everything he's been for the majority of his career. He's not a bad player but he's also not a star player. He's been a solid addition to the Bulls but hasn't made a huge impact either. But one thing is clear, even if the Bulls wanted to trade Giddey, they're not getting what Caruso would've given them when his trade value was at an all-time high. And that's where the Bulls completely missed an opportunity to truly jump-start their rebuild or retooling of the roster (however they want to label it).
What makes this move all the more complicated to defend is the fact that they traded Giddey with the understanding that they almost had to agree to a contract extension with him. The rookie-scale extension came and went and now Giddey will have the opportunity to test restricted free agency next summer. This entire Giddey situation has been one big head-scratching move from the Bulls. Maybe this all ends up working out for the Bulls in the long run but there's no question it's gotten off to a rocky start.