Josh Giddey couldn’t “envision” his new role for Oklahoma City Thunder.
Thunder GM Sam Presti said in a statement released by the team Friday that Giddey was not keen on a reserve role for the 2024-25 season and pushed for other destinations.
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“As we laid out to Josh how he could lean into his strengths and ultimately optimise our current roster and talent, it was hard to for him to envision, and conversations turned to him inquiring about potential opportunities elsewhere,” Presti wrote, as per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski’s X account.
“Josh has All-Star potential, but accessing that in the current construct of the Thunder would not be optimal for the collective. Based on these discussions we decided to move forward and prioritise what was best for the organisation,” the GM added.
It was officially announced Friday that Oklahoma City traded Giddey to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for guard Alex Caruso.
Giddey averaged 12.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists with 47.5% shooting this season – down from 16.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists the previous season.
In the second round against the Dallas Mavericks, head coach Mark Daigneault benched Giddey for the series’ final two games.
The point guard’s minutes plummeted in the playoffs, and he lost his starting spot for the first time.
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Giddey averaged 26.5 minutes per game in the first round against the Pelicans, compared to just 12.6 minutes against the Mavericks.
The 21-year-old was selected as the No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
“When we drafted Josh in 2021 he was an essential aspect of our vision for the next iteration of the Thunder,” Presti wrote.
“Since then, our team has evolved rapidly and dynamically in ways we could never have anticipated. Therefore, as we began our internal discussions this off-season, it was determined that bringing Josh off the bench next season was our best option to maximise his many talents and deploy our team more efficiently over 48 minutes.”
In an emotional post on Instagram, Giddey declared he was “forever grateful” to the franchise for giving him a chance to live out his basketball dreams.
“OKC … thank you for EVERYTHING,” Giddey wrote.
“To the city for embracing me from Day 1. To Mr (Clay) Bennett, Sam (Presti) and Mark (Daigneault) for giving me the opportunity to fulfil my dream of my (sic) being an NBA player, I am forever grateful.
Woj explains shock Giddey trade to Bulls | 00:59
“My brothers, who I got to share the floor with for 3 years. The best group of guys I could’ve imagined. Stuck with me through the very high highs and the very low lows. You guys know the real me.
“I am forever in debt to Oklahoma and no words will do justice to how much the city and the organisation mean to me and my family.”
Caruso, 30, spent the past three seasons in Chicago and averaged 7.8 points, 3.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals this season.
The guard was named to the All-Defensive First Team for 2022-23, the All-Defensive Second Team for 2023-24 and won the NBA Hustle Award for 2023-24.
Undrafted out of college, the Texas A&M grad signed a training camp deal with Oklahoma City in 2016.
However, he was waived before the season kicked off and signed with the Lakers in 2017 – where he played four seasons and won the championship in 2020.
This story originally appeared on the New York Post and has been reposted with permission