Why Thunder FLEECED Bulls in Alex Caruso trade, OKC one piece away | Hoops Tonight

Why Thunder FLEECED Bulls in Alex Caruso trade, OKC one piece away | Hoops Tonight

what’s up everybody thanks as always for supporting the show it would mean a lot to me if you would take a second to scroll down and hit that subscribe button to the Hoops Tonight YouTube channel and then follow me on social media on Tik Tok Instagram and Twitter so you guys don’t miss any of our content over the course of this season all right let’s talk some basketball all right let’s talk Alex cruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder so this is a super interesting deal on so many levels I want to focus on kind of the weird part first and then we’ll get into the part that makes a lot of sense to me so the weird Parts it’s bizarre to me that the Bulls valued Josh giddy so much that they didn’t ask for any additional draft compensation in this deal like Josh giddy is an interesting player but he kind of has to be on the ball to be effective and he’s not good enough at being on the ball to be a primary ball handler for a great team right that really is the issue in my opinion if I look at go giddy as a as a the future version of himself he’s got to become a better shooter he’s got to become a better cutter he’s got to become a better just functional offb piece in order to make himself be valuable as a as a secondary Creator or a tertiary Creator in order for his value to make sense I just think if you put the ball in his hands a ton you’re going to be a pretty mediocre team at this point given some of his limitations especially as a shooter right so like I I don’t really understand the the the value there from Boston or excuse me from Chicago but it’s very clear that the Bulls just valued Josh kidy because they did not ask for any additional draft compensation in the deal also like Alex cruso seemed from some of the reporting to be capable of fetching at least a good first round pick in the market so they’ve looked at giddy over even firstr draft compensation which I think is fascinating also on the Oklahoma City front kuro’s a little bit of a redundancy right like if you’re looking at the lineup for Oklahoma City you imagine Shay Jay dub Dort as you’re one two3 you when you think about what you know Oklahoma City really needs to do to get to the next level you think about either a good physical bruising Center that you can slot Chet homr at the four with or a big physical bruising forward that can keep Chad at the five right you’re looking for something that can beef up the front court so like going for Alex Alex Caruso especially at a position where you already kind of have a plethora of talent seems a little confusing so on the surface the trade seems weird but here’s why I love it for Oklahoma City obviously it’s a discounted deal you just traded a player that doesn’t really fit with the idealized version of what you are especially in the playoffs for a guy who has started games in the NBA finals for the team that won the championship like he’s one of the most highly regarded role players in the NBA i i as a Lakers fan rooted for this guy I was devastated when jeie bus let him go simply because of money it was one of the many catastrophic mistakes that Genie bus and the ownership group of the Los Angeles Lakers have made over the the course of the last few years I promise you Alex cruso has always been this good it’s not something that just happened in Chicago he’s been someone that I’ve uh uh really valued and appreciated for appreciated for a really long time and it’s unfortunate that he made his way to Chicago to begin with I promise you thunder fans as long as he can stay healthy you guys are going to love this guy he’s one of the very best perimeter defenders in the NBA he’s a proven effective playoff role player but what’s fascinating to me is like if you actually look at Caruso and the way want him to fit into a championship team he’s actually kind of better when you keep him down around like 25 minutes one of the main reasons why is this is a guy who plays extremely hard all the time that doesn’t say that you can’t scale his minutes up if you want him to close a big game or play 32 33 minutes in a big playoff game it’s not like Alex is not capable of that it’s just that he is a guy that goes Balls to the walls the entire time that he’s in the game and so keeping in that kind of 25 minute range is a way to get really uh good Effectiveness out of him in those 25 minutes right so the Thunder shouldn’t have too much of a problem carving out a 25 minute type of role for him even with the talent that they have already in the back court with Shay Jay dub and Lou Dort also guys like Aaron Wiggins are going to be a free agent next year you’re eventually going to have to pay him if you want him to stay on board you’re eventually gonna have to pay Kayan Wallace in the long run if he stays on board right so like if you can lock up Alex kuso on an affordable deal for four to five years then you can AFF to lose an Aaron Wiggins to restricted free agency you can afford to lose a quesan Wallace in a few years if you have Alex cruso to kind of fill that role as your first bench guard or bench Wing that comes in and guards the other team’s best player right cuso is also a better fit within this timeline this team has real Championship potential as soon as next season if they can get a highquality front Court player I will be moving them into my top tier of Championship contenders that’s how impressed I was in general by Oklahoma City and how well fared against the Dallas Mavericks in that second round series which by the way they were this close to winning if they don’t foul PJ Washington in the left corner in game six they’re going home for game seven which statistically speaking goes to the home team that’s not to say that it’s a guarantee the Mavs might very well have gone into d uh Oklahoma City in one but the Thunder were very close to making it to the Conference Finals right so like they’re they’re they’re like one piece away and Caruso is a substantial piece but the biggest weakness of the team is that front Court athleticism and like and just kind of like uh like uh just someone that can just be a pain in the ass on the glass it was just kind of a hard worker that just kind of solves some of their dirty work issues on the front line right if they get that type of guy and you add Alex kuso to this equation and you add a year of experience a year of the pain and suffering of losing in that second round series painfully the way that they did that’s a team that I think is a top tier Championship Contender so like Russo fits within the urgency of your opportunity to win right now like he is a veteran piece he’s 30 years old he brings Championship level playoff experience I love that fit and so who’s that front Court piece this is where I want to kind of tie everything back to the Brooklyn Nets New York Knicks trade so in the as a byproduct of the New York Knicks trade the reporting is that Isaiah hartenstein looks to be the guy that the Knicks may not be able to retain if Isaiah hartenstein enters free agency and Oklahoma City can jump on him what a perfect piece that would be alongside Chad hren at the four several reasons why I like this first of all in five out offense as we talked about earlier for the Knicks Isaiah hartstein is just such a good dribble handoff fulgram such a good screener such a good backdoor passer such a good role man right such a good offensive rebounder does all of these things that can really un block a five out offense he’s also just an absolute an absolute star on the glass this dude can crash the offensive glass with the best of them he can clean up defensive possessions if you put him next to CAD hren you fundamentally alter the physical profile of your front line even next to chat you can imagine running a high drop coverage where and this is a Thunder team that likes to be aggressive you can put shett as the low man now you can put hartenstein on the other team Center hartenstein can come out high in a drop coverage and be active with his hands now Chad is the guy that is functioning is that low man who can help at The Rim in ball screens while also having the length to close to the corner and contest corner Shooters on skip passes this would be if the Thunder can get Isaiah hartenstein that to me or a similar type of player but Isaiah hartstein to me is is my favorite kind of fit there if they can get Isaiah hartenstein I would put them in my top tier of Championship contenders I would put them up there with Denver and Boston that is how good I think the Su team can be if they beef up the front Court [Music]

Jason Timpf reacts to the Oklahoma City Thunder trading with the Chicago Bulls for Alex Caruso. Jason discusses why he thinks this is a great move for Oklahoma City and how close the Thunder are to being elite title contenders. What other pieces can OKC look to add to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren in order to jump up to Jason’s top tier?

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