Bulls Nation Fumes Over Sam Presti’s Fortune Going Untapped in Alex Caruso Trade – 3 Declined Offers That Could’ve Saved Chicago’s Future

There was plenty of fish in the sea for the Chicago Bulls, but they ultimately settled for Josh Giddey from the OKC Thunder to let go of their defensive sensation Alex Caruso. The general manager of the OKC, Sam Presti, continues to get praised for adding depth to the strong core he created over the years. On the other hand, the Bulls are facing the heat for settling for Giddey, when they had several other options which included offers from teams like Warriors and Kings. 

Is Josh Giddey a good replacement for Caruso? The internet does not believe so. Before we delve deep into why, let’s take a look at some fascinating offers that the Bulls declined. As per reports, the Bulls received offers that included multiple protected first-round picks, and one of them ended up in the top 10 of the 2024 draft. 

The Bulls ignored the above trade completely. Then came the Golden State Warriors, who reportedly “made a strong offer” for Alex Caruso, and once again, manager Marc Eversley declined. However, the Sacramento Kings might have had the best to offer. The Kings were not only interested in Caruso, but they wanted to bag Zach LaVine in the trade too. 

The Sacramento unit was ready to offer veteran shooters Harrison Barnes and Kevin Heurter, along with draft pick compensation for both LaVine and Caruso. This could have been a steal for the Bulls, considering the dip in the market for LaVine. Anyhow, they ultimately settled for Josh Giddey, thus eliminating the chance to trade LaVine as well. 

According to the fans, the Bulls are back to square one, and for a few, it was a steal for the OKC Thunder. The netizens erupted online for one major flaw in the trade that the Bulls could suffer from in the near future.

“Braindead” Bulls front office gets questioned for Caruso-Giddey trade 

The Bulls are not the best defensive team in the Eastern Conference. However, when Caruso was in the lineup, the on-ball defense improved on a large scale. While Giddey averaged 0.6 blocks and 0.7 steals in the 2024 season, Caruso had 1 block and 1.7 steals per game. Considering the Bulls’ desperate need to improve defense, this trade questions their future in the NBA. A fan wrote mocking the franchise, “BULLS ARE SO BRAINDEAD.“

Another fan pointed out why Caruso fits better with OKC than Giddey does with the Bulls, “Thunder threw Josh Diddy to the bushes and got back Alex Caruso who just had his most efficient season along while making the All-Defensive Team.“ Giddey is marginally better on the offense when compared with Caruso, but the latter gives OKC a two-way advantage. 

A fan also questioned the Bulls for declining a top-10 pick in the draft. He wrote on X, “They turned down a top 10 pick for Caruso… then traded him for Giddy?!?!?” Many on the internet believe a top-10 pick in the NBA draft would be a better option than Giddey. Sadly, there is no room for that now. 

There were no draft picks involved in this trade at all, which fueled the fans to blast the Chicago unit. A user tweeted, “Caruso is coming off a career year on one of the best contracts in the NBA. Giddey is coming off his worst year and is up for a rookie scale extension. How the hell do you not get a draft pick? You had ALL the leverage.“ 

The Thunder reportedly have 15 first-round picks and 22 second-round picks, which they will be using over the next few years efficiently. Fans couldn’t believe the Bulls franchise did not get a single draft pick in the above trade. A fan questioned, “Okay wait so the Bulls aren’t getting any picks for Alex Caruso from the team that owns all the draft picks for the rest of time?? After declining offers with multiple draft picks?????“ Considering these stinging questions from the fans, it looks like the Bulls are in big trouble. 

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