Guitarsoup said:
Deluxe said:
OKCAg2002 said:
I am a HUGE fan of this trade. Giddey didn't have a fit with the Thunder, and Caruso is a perfect fit defensively.
They're going to suffocate on defense next year. The one guy on their defense you could attack last year has been replaced by one of the best in the game. Scary.
The knock on them will still be size. It is going to be 178lb Chet and 4 guys that are 6'5 and under. But their perimeter defense will be insane. I wonder if they plan to go after Isaiah Hartenstein for size.
Yea there's a few different ways to look at it. I think another reasonably significant move is coming to address their length.
As it exists today, I think they're a little better from a regular season standpoint and quite a bit better from a playoff/matchup standpoint.
In the regular season, you can dole out enough minutes for SGA/Jdub to play off the ball and let Giddey facilitate. To justify his spot on the court, Giddey needs the ball in his hands. He doesn't have the right skillset to be a primarily off-ball player.
In the playoffs, SGA is going to dominate the ball for the most part. Jdub will when he's not. Developing more creation opportunities for Chet is also a priority going forward. There's just not enough ball to go around, which turns Giddey turns into a liability on offense because teams can sag off him and make him shoot.
Giddey was also by far the weak-link on defense relative to their other four regular starters. Given the way the roster has evolved, he just didn't really fit anymore unless he was willing to accept a role off the bench to essentially spell SGA (which I don't blame him for rejecting at this stage in his career).
Replacing him with Caruso makes them much more potent in the playoffs. He's one of the best at playing off the ball and defending. Can even bring the ball up a little in case SGA needs a little in-game breather.
You're right that he doesn't address the length problem though. IMO they need to target someone who 1) can play the five when Chet is resting and 2) can play alongside Chet during key minutes without making the lineup too clunky.
I've seen the Hartenstein connections too and I'm kinda torn on it but mostly lean no. I think him playing alongside makes the lineup too Clunky and he would essentially turn into a highly paid backup in the playoffs. The counter is that MIN and DEN can come at you big and Hartenstein could be an asset against them.
Dallas exploited OKC's size as well but I don't think OKC needs a bruising 7-footer type to fix that. A long/athletic 6'9 guy with some rebounding/defensive chops (ie Patrick Williams) + replacing Giddey with Caruso I think goes a long way in flipping that matchup. We'll see.
I've been debating whether they should go after size for the sake of size that "fits" better or go after the best player they can get their hands on, even if that player is another wing. They've got a couple year window with Chet/Jdub on rookie deals, so the time is now to push some chips in. Adding Caruso means they could potentially include Dort in a deal to make salaries work.
I think they should target the guy they think fits the best and dip into their treasure-chest of picks to make it happen. Lauri Markkanen is who I'd try to pry away from Utah, but I trust Presti.
