The NBA Off-Season Is Here!
It’s Christmas time, NBA fans! The season is over, and signings and trades are about to pile up. Not even a week has passed, and a significant trade and a highly anticipated Coach signing have gone down.
Chicago Sends Alex Caruso To the Thunder For Josh Giddey In A Straight Swap
My initial reaction to Chicago's trade is how on earth they managed to get ZERO draft capital out of Caruso, a guy who’s been heavily rumored to be worth up to 2 FRPs. But this trade is (hopefully) just the start of a wild off-season for the Bulls.
For years, they’ve been a very average to slightly below average team, not nearly good enough to get past the First Round and not bad enough to land a top pick.
If getting Giddey (21 y/o) starts a real youth movement in Chicago, I’m all for it, even though I still hate to see them fail to get a draft pick, considering the amount Sam Presti and OKC have in their arsenal.
But if they still have the majority of their veterans on the team by the start of the season, then this is just a super weird trade for them. Trade Zo, Lavine, and Vucevic let Demar walk and give Coby White the reigns.
OKC Strengthen Their Championship Hopes
For the Thunder, this is a solid-looking trade. Josh Giddey was played out of the starting lineup in the 2024 Playoffs, and they managed to get a starter quality defensive stalwart with championship experience for him without giving up a pick.
Alex Caruso will be a sensational fit next to Shai, taking the defensive pressure off him to guard the other team’s best guard.
He can also knock down Catch-and-shoot 3s (over 40% last season), which is massive, as teams were just leaving Giddey wide open from downtown last season and helping off on Shai and J-Dub drives.
I know there are a lot of contending teams out there who are highly upset they didn’t put in an offer for Caruso, though the Bulls did allegedly turn down an offer a few days ago for multiple FRPs.
Lakers Sign JJ Redick To 4-year Deal As Head Coach
It’s official: Redick will coach the Lakers in the upcoming season, which will undoubtedly either go terribly wrong or exceed all expectations.
Rob Pelinka will hope this signing gives LeBron some more incentive to return to the team and play ‘under’ his podcast co-host and friend Redick.
Rumors have also circulated that James’ former teammate and 2020 championship Lakers point guard Rajon Rondo could join Redick’s staff as an assistant.
If this happens, the Lakers will have some incredibly high Basketball IQ on their bench this season, and it no doubt has the potential to reap incredible rewards. But it’s a question of how all the egos will hold up in that locker room over the course of a season.
An exciting start to the NBA Off-Season; we can only hope there’s much more to come!
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