Chicago Bulls haven’t actually messed up Josh Giddey trade, analyst claims

Trading Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey straight up was not a great idea for the Chicago Bulls last offseason. They probably could’ve landed much more for the player that most teams would’ve liked to have. But that’s over and done.

“The Chicago Bulls should have accepted one of several offers for Alex Caruso that reportedly included multiple first-round picks,” Bleacher Report insider Grant Hughes said. “So on one level, it’s not an overreaction to say they made a mistake by targeting Josh Giddey a year ahead of free agency.”

And with Giddey dangling in free agency right now, it’s “tempting” to criticize the Bulls even more because they will either have to overpay to bring him back on a long-term deal or risk losing him entirely, thus making the Caruso trade even worse.

Hughes says that’s too far, though. “Maybe the initial decision was shaky, but Chicago is doing exactly the right thing by playing hardball with Giddey,” he noted. “Even after his breakout second half last season, the Aussie guard remains a difficult fit on a winning team because of his unreliable defense and limited off-ball value.”

Giddey, like every single player on earth, has value assigned by what he’s able to do on the floor compared to his salary. “Giddey wouldn’t be a positive-value asset if he were making $30 million per season. But at $20 million, the Bulls preferred price tag?” Hughes believes that would be a different story.

The Bulls have not done a ton well, but Hughes loves the unwillingness to make a bad trade worse by overpaying to keep the asset they got in return. It’s a small win for a front office that’s been plagued by bad decisions for a long time.