I really think the Chicago Bulls have been jinxed by Michael Jordan. When Jordan was winning championships in Chicago, the current GM at the time was plotting life without their superstar. It was not like Jerry Krause knew Jordan was retiring. It was just a pissing contest over who has the bigger man part. The super egos have left the building. Since Jordan last shot for the Bulls, the front office has been wiped clean. The rotation of head coaches is like a game of musical chairs with no winner in sight. The rebuild after rebuild that crumbles if the wolf was blowing down the house. We know the Bulls ownership is horrific as the fan base deserves better. The latest from the bad news Bulls is they are trading away their best defensive player, Alex Caruso, to the Oklahoma Thunder to acquire Josh Giddy, a guy that can create his own shot.

Alex Caruso has played for the Chicago Bulls the last three seasons as he started his NBA career in LA with the Lakers. He’s played 7 seasons in the NBA, is 30 years old, and is a guy that can defend the basket very well. The NBA wants scoring. The younger generation wants scoring and wouldn’t know what actually is defense unless they looked it up on their phone. In my book, defense wins you games. Sure you need to score points, but Caruso can execute on the defensive side of the court and create opportunities as well as stops for your team. Caruso is the Pete Rose of the basketball court as he is a guy that any team wants because he is “Johnny Hustle” out there. In 71 games, Caruso averaged 10.1 points per game as he secured 3.8 rebounds a game while dishing out 3.5 assists. Caruso can make some important shots in crunch time. He can get you the steal of the basketball. He can force the opposing team to turn over the ball. When the great Bulls teams were winning championships, guys like Dennis Rodman were the unsung heroes. Rodman did the dirty work in that second three-peat of championships in the late 1990’s. Another great Bulls defender was Ron Artest who changed his name to Metta World Peace. That guy defended very well but was not playing with a full deck. If I’m building a team, I want a guy like Caruso. The Thunder went deep into the playoffs last season. They are already a pretty solid defensive team overall and now got better.

Josh Giddey is only 21 years old & from Australia. He stands at 6’8″ and has 3 years in the NBA, all with Oklahoma. Since Giddey arrived in 2021 when he was drafted 6th overall, he has averaged 13.9 points per game with 7.3 rebounds while dishing out 5.7 assists. In 2022, Giddey averaged 16.6 points per game, 7.9 rebounds per game, and dished out 6.2 assists. Last season, Giddey’s numbers regressed as he averaged 12.3 points per game, 6.4 rebounds per game, and only 4.8 assists per game. The post-season Giddey’s playing time decreased as he averaged 8.7 points per game with only 3.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists as he averaged 18.1 minutes. Giddy is finishing up his rookie deal and will command bigger money. He is only 21 years of age.

This current Bulls team with Billy Donovan as the head coach were only good with a healthy Lonzo Ball. Back in the 2021-22 season, Ball only played 35 games but the team as a whole got off to a great start. When Ball got hurt this team was not the same in the playoffs. Then Ball would miss the next two seasons with a knee injury. This Bulls team now is mediocre at best. Not sure even if you found a talent like Ball with the same numbers and keeping all your pieces in place its not going to get you deep into post-season. No team should hinder on one player. The Bulls are not better today landing Josh Giddey and losing Alex Caruso. If you got rid of Zach LaVine and landed Giddey without losing Caruso, maybe you have something going for you. LaVine and Giddey are the same type of players in my book. We all know DeMar DeRozan is the Bulls’ best player but he is 34 years old and those are basketball years on that body. Do the Bulls bring back Lonzo Ball who says he’s ready to play once again after a two year hiatus? I think this current group is just a pipe dream and we have gone far enough with this group.

Rumor is the Bulls might blow this current team up which makes this Alex Caruso trade landing Josh Giddey even more baffling. Caruso could not give the Bulls GM Arturas Karnisovas draft picks? The Bulls seem like they never have a great plan in place. We built around Zach LaVine which has not worked out. Two summers in 2022, the Bulls gave LaVine a big deal. The Bulls were still trying to win that Jimmy Butler trade that sent him to Minnesota for LaVine. I really don’t think if we blow up the Bulls roster you are not going to get much for LaVine because of the contract. DeMar DeRozan may get you something. We will be stuck watching LaVine and Giddey showcasing their offensive talents with a young group assembled around them is my bet. Then you have to pay Giddey. The Bulls may add some veterans through free agency if they subtract some by trading away a few more guys on this current roster. Where does it all lead to? I’ll tell you. Mediocre!! The last few years of draft picks they should build around and sell off all the veterans for draft picks and hit the reset button. It’s the same ole story song and dance with the Chicago Bulls. Love to see the Bulls blow up the entire Bullsdom with a new owner who wants to actually win basketball games. Somebody with sense to keep guys like Caruso and discard the LaVine’s of the NBA world.