The Oklahoma City Thunder Are Playing Chess While Everyone Is Playing Checkers…
Sam presty has done it again the Bulls and thunder agreed to a trade on Thursday with the bulls sending Alex Caruso to the OKC Thunder in exchange for Josh giddy with the trade Caruso returns to Oklahoma City where he began his pro career on the Oklahoma City Blue then part of the NBA’s developmental League also Thunderhead coach Mark dangel who coached the blue from 2014 to 2019 coach Caruso during the 201617 season talk about a full circle moment the Thunder they receive kuso and he is going to absolutely take him to the next level because the Thunder they get a big defensive presence a veteran point guard who’s received NBA all defensive team honors twice and who was an NBA champion with the 2020 Lakers Caruso averaged 10.1 points 3.8 rebounds and three and a half assists this season the Thunder I mean they absolutely knocked it out of the ballpark with this trade being being able to get Caruso and not having to surrender any of their many many picks this is an A+ deal for the Thunder and I’m going to talk about it before we Dive Right into this one guys do me a solid hit a like on the video and subscribe to the channel for more Thunder content just like this Caruso has been one of the most sought after role players in the NBA over the last couple of Seasons I mean he’s an incredible Defender brilliant connective passer and he’s steadily improving that three-point shot he made near nearly 41% of his attempts last season Oklahoma City they ranked fourth in defense and led the NBA in three-point percentage they now have Caruso ludor Cas Wallace Jaylen Williams with Chad holgren as you look at the Thunder they ranked third in the NBA in contested shots per game last season and they’re going to have that defensive structure with hren protecting the basket this is going to be absolutely lethal and you can argue that Oklahoma City’s defense is Prime to be better than the Celtics defense next season and it didn’t cost the Thunder much cap space either Caruso will make roughly 1.5 million more than giddy next season and both are on expiring deals Oklahoma City despite making this trade can still easily create more than $30 million in cap space if it wants to and that means they’ll have enough to still address some of their other needs like their rebounding W so possibly going out and signing a guy like Isaiah Harden sign is still on the table so the Thunder they can still address their needs even after making this trade and you look at giddy he provides the bulls with what they hope is their point guard of the future unfortunately his time with the Thunder just didn’t go to plan look at giddy he was benched in the second round against Dallas because the Mavs they did not guard him and they didn’t need to he’s a 31% career three-point shooter and he was never going to be the true point guard on the Thunder with Shay gilas Alexander on the team so the Thunder they had to trade giddy they haven’t just added one of the NBA’s best role players but they’ve also made sure that none of their Rivals none of the other teams in the Western Conference could get Caruso so the OKC Thunder I mean they’re just playing chess at this point now guys before we continue on with today’s video I do want to quickly shout out today’s sponsor bet us bet us is the number one online sports book in which they are currently offering 125% deposit match up to $2,000 on your first three deposits I’ve been using bet us and then guys they are awesome they got great incentives and I mean if you look at their website you can bet on many different things and I mean you look at the Thunder they were the one seed last season they just got better you got to like their title chances I know it’s still really early to talk about title odds and all that for next season but hey if you want to get on it now plus 900 I think that’s solid value given how good the Thunder are going to be so if you want to make that bet you can I’ll sprinkle some money on it because you never know this Thunder team they’re obviously on their way up it’s going to be only a matter of time until they are competing for a championship and get really close to winning one so guys you can check out bet us today sign up for bet us it helps the channel a ton so you hold me out which is greatly appreciated thank you to bet us for sponsoring today’s video so Caruso is going to make the Thunders defense even better I mean this past season the OKC Thunder they had a top five League defense in which they posted a 104.5 defensive rating good enough for second best in the league and they were just behind Orlando’s 100 rating and they were third in the league in in steals and second in blocks OKC held matchups to a league best 43.1% from the floor eighth an opponent 3point percentage at 34% and the second worst plus minus at minus 8.3 just behind the reigning Champion Boston Celtics so the 2024 2025 Thunder are poised to Top This output I mean you look at this squad the Thunder can have kuso ludor K Wallace Jaylen Williams Aaron wiggan Shay gilis Alexander on the outside and then I mean if teams are going to try the Thunder inside they got an elite defensive anchor in Chad holgren who is going to be protecting that paint and the Thunder can also go out and add a big men which I think they are going to do this off season so Caruso is going to make the Thunder that much better he’s a two-time all defensive member he gives OKC just another weapon and this is going to be a Thunder team that is just absolutely going to frustrate and fluster the opposition and the fact that Caruso can make the three at a high level that’s going to be such a huge boost to this thunder offense and the Thunder I mean you look at how much more lethal that defense is going to be just speaking more of this defense the Thunder they already somewhat held Luca donic in check they made a difficult for Kyrie Irving and really if it wasn’t for those role players hitting those wide open looks the Thunder would have easily you know won that series against the Mavericks so the Thunder now they’re going to make things difficult just just absolutely can stifle their opponent’s best player they’re going to guard that perimeter they’re going to just have everything locked up inside and you look at presy he not only gets rid of giddy who was clearly no longer a good fit on this team but he gets back a legitimate impact player in Alex Caruso that is going to help this team in so many different ways and the best way to beating a team like the Celtics who just won the championship is by replicating them and the Thunder are doing that they’re following that mold and this team right now looks very very scary from top to bottom so the Thunder they’re already the top team in the west last season the number one seed they just got even better with all their picks still intact it’s just absolutely terrifying how bright this team’s present currently is and how bright their future is they got all their bases covered and this OKC Thunder team The Best Is Yet To Come so Thunder fans I know you’re a static because this is just unbelievable the OKC Thunder they got a whole lot better and this is just an excellent excellent move made by S presty Caruso is going to be a tremendous fit and this Thunder team they are going to be just a lock down defensive team good luck to the opposition when it comes to trying to score on this thunder defense so guys let me know your thoughts on the Thunder after this move what was your initial reaction how much better do you think the Thunder become after this trade also guys let me know what other moves do you see the Thunder making obviously the NBA free agencies around the corner the Thunder they’re going to have some money to spend so uh let me know if you think the Thunder are going to make any more big moves or even any more big trades of course they got a billion picks too at their disposal so uh let me know how active you think the Thunder are going to be this off season let me know your thoughts down below drop a like on the video subscribe to the channel if you are new that is it for me guys Lucas signing off as always thank you so much for watching I will catch you all again in the next video [Music]
The Oklahoma City Thunder just got even better.
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