Sunday, December 22, 2024

Chicago Bulls acquire Josh Giddey in trade with Oklahoma City Thunder

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The Chicago Bulls announced today that the team has acquired guard Josh Giddey from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for guard Alex Caruso.

Giddey, 6-8, 210, joins Chicago after spending three years in Oklahoma City with career NBA averages of 13.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists in 28.9 minutes over 210 games (all starts). Giddey was selected sixth overall by the Thunder in the 2021 NBA Draft and earned NBA Rising Stars selections at All-Star weekend in each of his first two seasons, as well as 2021-22 All-Rookie Second Team honors during his rookie campaign. He was named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month four times.

Giddey then tallied career-high averages of 16.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists over 76 games in his sophomore season, becoming one of eight NBA players to average at least 16.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists within the opening two seasons of their career (Oscar Robertson, Norm Van Lier, Magic Johnson, Grant Hill, LeBron James, Ben Simmons, Luka Doncic).

During the 2023-24 season, Giddey suited up in a career-high 80 games while averaging 12.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 25.1 minutes. Giddey shot .475 from the floor and career bests of .337 from three-point range and .806 from the free-throw line. He had 10 double-doubles and three triple-doubles on the year, marking the fourth-most triple-doubles by any NBA guard last season. Giddey’s 11 career triple-doubles are the fifth-most among all NBA guards since the 2021-22 season and he became the youngest player in NBA history with a triple- double at 19 years and 84 days old on Jan. 2, 2022.

The former No. 6 overall pick saw postseason action for the first time in his career during the 2024 NBA Playoffs, averaging 8.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 18.1 minutes over 10 games. Giddey totaled 21 points, eight rebounds, six assists and a steal while knocking down four triples in an opening round win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Apr. 24. He scored in double-digits in four playoff games and shot .353 from distance.

A native of Melbourne, Australia, Giddey competed for the Australian National Team at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 and earned the Wanda Rising Star Award after leading his team in points (19.0 ppg) and assists (7.3 apg) in the World Cup. Prior to the NBA, Giddey played for the Adelaide 36ers in the NBL during the 2020-21 season. Giddey posted clips of 10.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.5 assists in 32.1 minutes over 28 games en route to being named the NBL Rookie of the Year.

Caruso, 6-5, 186, averaged 7.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals over 179 games (111 starts) with Chicago. Caruso became the ninth player in Bulls history with multiple NBA All-Defensive nods and was also the winner of the 2023-24 NBA Hustle Award.

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