Thunder GM explains why he traded Josh Giddey

Sam Presti.

The Oklahoma City Thunder traded guard Josh Giddey to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for guard Alex Caruso earlier this week. The trade was a straight-up one-for-one, which Thunder executive vice president and general manager Sam Presti explained in detail on Friday.

“We want to thank Josh for his many contributions to our team and know he will capitalize on the opportunities before him in Chicago,” Presti said in a statement. “When we drafted Josh in 2021 he was an essential aspect of our vision for the next iteration of the Thunder. 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 maximize his many talents and deploy our team more efficiently over 48 minutes.”

Giddey, apparently, did not share in that vision.

“As we laid out to Josh how he could lean into his strengths and ultimately optimize our current roster and talent, it was hard to for him to envision, and conversations turned to him inquiring about potential opportunities elsewhere. As always was the case, Josh demonstrated the utmost professionalism throughout the discussions,” Presti added.

“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 prioritize what was best for the organization.”

Giddey, whom the Thunder selected sixth overall in the 2021 NBA Draft, has averaged 13.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game during his three-season career. He is entering the final year of his contract and wants to maximize his value as a starter.

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