RokDeez Bulls Blog

Hi everybody, and welcome back to the Chicago Bulls Carousel of Diminishing Returns, the ride every Bulls fan is forced to endure anytime this franchise makes a trade.

If you haven’t heard yet, the Chicago Bulls traded superstar defender Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder for above average floor general Josh Giddey.

This is a monumentally stupid trade.

Not because Giddey is a bad player. He’s young, big for a lead guard, an excellent passer, and can run an NBA offense.

Alex Caruso is one of the best defenders in the league. He can guard every position on the court at an all-star level. He can start, he can come off the bench, he shoots over 40% on three pointers, and he can handle the basketball and run an offense if you need him to.

The fact that Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley couldn’t even get a 2nd round draft pick out OKC for Caruso is downright disgusting.

There were teams willing to give up TWO first round draft picks for Caruso, and the Bulls passed on those offers for a good player with some potential.

Sometimes I wonder why I still support this team.

Alex Caruso is by far the better player in this trade. He could very well be the player that tips the scales for the Thunder and helps them win a championship. I don’t understand how the Bulls, a draft pick depleted team, couldn’t weasel even a 2nd round pick out of OKC for the player that could push them to a championship.

Am I the stupid one here?

Am I not seeing something obvious?

Am I so out of touch with the NBA that I’m over valuing Caruso?

If so, I’m not the only one. A lot of media members and fans who cover/follow the Bulls on a regular basis were just as surprised as I was when it was announced that this trade is a straight one-for-one swap.

Caruso has been everything for the Chicago Bulls. Any trade involving him was always going to be a diminishing return, he’s been that good. And I’m not saying the Bulls shouldn’t have traded Caruso, or even that they shouldn’t have traded him for Josh Giddey.

Any trade involving Caruso should have netted the Bulls a draft pick or two. Simple as that.

Over the last 4 seasons, AK and Eversley have slowly killed my hope in their ability to manage this Bulls team to any sort of success. They’ve traded away talented youth for aging veterans, not drafted well, and, the biggest sin of all, they haven’t improved the team for 3 seasons in a row, electing to run back a flaccid core of mediocrity, the Mid Three, year after year, expecting some sort of miraculous improvement when even the most casual basketball fan could look at the roster and say “Nope, this ain’t a playoff contender.”

I have seen some people defending this trade.

It’s been suggested that only getting Giddey back for Caruso will help the Bulls keep their 2025 top 10 first round draft pick, a pick that will go to the San Antonio Spurs as part of the DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade if the Bulls don’t stink this season. Trading Caruso for 2 first round picks would also result in a bad Bulls team and them keeping their 2025 pick.

People are excited about the potential of Giddey (“He’s only 21 years old!”) and already has several years experience playing on a competitive team. It’s true, Giddey has a ton of potential, but so would 2 first round draft picks. In fact, you’d have TWO players with a ton of potential, and that seems twice as good as having one.

The hype is that Caruso is the first domino to fall in a summer full of changes for the Bulls. Karnisovas has been telling people he’s shopped Zach LaVine to 15 different teams. Rumors churn about DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trades. There have even been hints that Nikola Vucevic could be on the move.

I’ll believe that Bullshit when I see it.

This entire Bulls offseason has been one big rumor mill. To start off “The Summer Of Change” with a flop of a trade like this one… I’m pissed off.

I don’t think it’s an overreaction either.

Josh Giddey might turn into an All-Star some day, but that won’t soften the fact that the Bulls should have gotten more for Alex Caruso. His play and aggressive attitude are worth more than one good player with potential.

I can’t wait to see what sort of a “return” AK and Eversley get when they eventually find someone to take LaVine, it’ll probably cost us Ayo Dosunmu.

Stop this ride, I’d like to get off, please!

Until this carousel stops taking us fans for a ride, thanks for reading, thanks for subscribing, and GO BULLS!