There was a throwaway comment in Josh Giddey’s exit interview last week that didn’t generate headlines as the 21-year-old opened up about his “rollercoaster” third year in the NBA.
It was a telling reminder that as much as Giddey struggled to live up to his potential with the Thunder this past season, he is still a very talented player.
This season was just a case of Giddey being the victim of circumstance, forced to take on a role that didn’t play to his strengths as new emerging stars were born in Oklahoma City.
“It’s a different role,” Giddey said when asked if suiting up for the Boomers at the upcoming Paris Olympics could help him build towards the 2024-25 NBA season.
“I’m going to have the ball in my hands a lot more with Australia, initiating the offence and setting guys up.
“That’s who I am as a player and to do that is exciting.”
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That is who Giddey is as a player but it is not who he was last season.
He played more off the ball as the accelerated development of Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren made Oklahoma City rethink the nucleus of its offensive identity.
Sometimes Giddey made the new role work. He scored 21 points, including 4-for-7 from three-point range, as the Thunder took a 3-0 series lead against the Pelicans.
The month of March also gave Oklahoma City a glimpse of what Giddey’s ceiling could look like when confident and comfortable in the role. He averaged 16.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists.
For the Thunder, that stretch and the series against the Pelicans, along with Giddey’s first two seasons in the league when playing a more ball-dominant role, show he still has some value in Oklahoma City, especially if Williams or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was to go down.
But with Giddey extension eligible this summer, the question is how much he will be after and what sort of figure the Thunder will land on considering Williams and Holmgren will also soon be extension eligible, while Gilgeous-Alexander is a super max candidate.
The other option for Oklahoma City is to trade Giddey this summer to land a player who is a cleaner fit on the roster.
With that in mind, foxsports.com.au looks at five teams that could be potential landing spots for Giddey should a trade eventuate in the off season.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Fit-wise, this seems like the best bet because the Spurs need a point guard the offence can run through.
Any potential landing spot for Giddey needs to surround him with shooting.
However, like most of the teams that have a need at point guard, the Spurs aren’t a perfect option given they need shooters, too, having gone 34.7 per cent from three-point land in the past season.
That ranked them third worst in the league, although the Spurs made the 16th most and attempted the 11th most, so there is some additional context to that initial number that doesn’t make the situation look as bad as it sounds.
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The broader point here is that San Antonio needs a ball handler who can play with and get the most out of Victor Wembanyama.
Giddey could be the bigger playmaking guard to do just that for the Spurs, although they have also been linked with Atlanta’s Trae Young and could consider a move for Darius Garland if Cleveland extends Donovan Mitchell.
San Antonio also has the fourth and eighth picks in this year’s draft, which it could instead use to select a point guard.
Giddey’s deficiencies as a shooter and in defence are also weaknesses any team trading for him would consider, but at least at San Antonio it would be easier to try hide his flaws on the defensive end with Wembanyama lurking in the paint.
Gregg Popovich is the right kind of coach to get the most out of Giddey defensively.
UTAH JAZZ
The Thunder can only dream of a trade with the Jazz that centres around Lauri Markkanen, who would be the perfect kind of player to complete Oklahoma City’s starting line-up.
Markkanen is coming off another stellar year with the Jazz. For the second straight season he shot more than 39 per cent from deep, and averaged 23.2 points and 8.2 rebounds.
He the shooting, rebounding and switchability to thrive in a Thunder team that has been purposefully built from the start to prioritise players with positional size and versatility.
Unfortunately for Oklahoma City, it would take quite the haul to land Markannen considering the Jazz seems to view him as untouchable in trades, instead hoping to build around him.
The Jazz does make sense as a potential Giddey destination given it also has a need at the point guard position considering 30-year-old Kris Dunn and the very raw Keyonte George are its two leading options.
Dunn, having been in the league for eight seasons now, doesn’t really match its timeline if it is looking to build towards the future, while George profiles as more of a scoring guard than a pure point guard.
If Markkanen is off the table, what would the Jazz have to offer that could be appealing to Oklahoma City?
Maybe Walker Kessler as a back-up big, although if the Thunder moves on from Giddey it would also need to address the vacant starting power forward role, should Williams move to his more natural position at small forward and Lu Dort combine with Gilgeous-Alexander in the backcourt.
Perhaps that could bring John Collins into the equation as a more affordable option for Oklahoma City?
BROOKLYN NETS
This would be an interesting scenario because it would result in Giddey teaming up with fellow Australian Ben Simmons, who has a similar issue when it comes to his shortcomings as a shooter.
However, in the event that Brooklyn traded for Giddey you have to remember that Simmons is on an expiring contract so there is every chance he is either off the team at the end of next season or even before then, if the Nets find a potential trade partner at the deadline.
In other words, trading for Giddey would be a long-term move even if the fit with Simmons on the court at the same time would be pretty awkward.
In the short-term, Brooklyn could always find ways to stagger their minutes.
Plus, you would have to think any involvement from Brooklyn in a potential trade would involve sending Nic Claxton to Oklahoma City and that takes one other non-shooter out of the equation.
Although, that in itself poses another different question. Would the Thunder even entertain a trade with the Nets if it centred around Claxton?
As much as the Thunder was urged to address its lack of size before this season’s trade deadline, Oklahoma City instead made a smaller move around the margins for Gordon Hayward.
It didn’t work out but it spoke to the fact Oklahoma City isn’t going to make a move for the sake of it.
Claxton offers rim protection and rebounding but isn’t an outside shooting threat, while his passing is also not as developed as some of the other bigs who could be available.
Either way, Claxton is a free agent this summer so if Oklahoma City was to acquire him it would involve a sign-and-trade.
As for Giddey’s fit at Brooklyn, the Nets have a need at point guard because Simmons and Dennis Schroder are their main options heading into next season.
Schroder is also on a $13 million expiring deal, an attractive contract that makes him a potential trade asset in the near future.
Giddey’s passing and vision would make him a nice fit in a Nets offence that thrived playing in transition last season.
More than anything, though, having a real playmaker would help create opportunities for Cam Thomas and Mikal Bridges.
Speaking of Bridges, he would be a great fit for the Thunder but it is hard to see the Nets giving him up without asking for a lot – and potentially too much – in return to justify it.
Instead, a three-and-D specialist such as Cam Johnson may be the more realistic trade target.
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WASHINGTON WIZARDS
If Washington was to make a move for Giddey, it would likely involve giving up Deni Avdija.
But in turn, Oklahoma City would have to give up a whole lot more than Giddey, including a collection of first or second-round picks, to land the rising Wizards forward.
Avdija placed sixth in Most Improved Player voting this year, having averaged 14.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists, and has the kind of well-rounded skill set that would make him a valuable asset now and into the future for the Thunder.
Avdija can play at small and power forward, giving him the kind of positional versatility that the Thunder loves, while he also shot a career-high 37.4 per cent from downtown.
While not a primarily playmaker, Avdija has the ideal mix of ball handling and passing that still sets him up well for more of a connective role in Oklahoma City’s offence.
Really, for all the reasons above, you would think this trade would be a non-starter but it largely depends on the future of Tyus Jones.
Jones is a free agent this summer and if he leaves, the Wizards will have a glaring hole at the point guard position and could do much worse than taking a gamble on Giddey’s upside given what he flashed in his first two seasons in the league.
If Jones stays, it is unlikely the Wizards will be motivated enough to move Avdija unless they received a decent haul of draft picks in return along with the Australian.
Even still, Avdija is also on a very team-friendly contract given his ascending value.
He is set to earn $15 million, $14 million, $13 million and $11 million over the next four seasons.