OKC Thunder Seeing Added Benefit of 2024 Blockbuster Trade This Offseason

The Oklahoma City Thunder made one of the most impactful trades of the 2024 offseason, and it’s aging better by the day.

In 2024, the Thunder ended their season with a second-round loss to the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks truly overpowered the Thunder in that matchup, with the pairing of star power and overwhelming big men being too much for Oklahoma City to overcome.

After learning some lessons in this core’s first playoff run, Sam Presti made some key offseason changes. To begin free agency, Presti inked Isaiah Hartenstein to a three-year deal that many saw as an overpay, but that hasn’t been said much after he started on the Thunder’s title squad.

Before the Hartenstein deal, Presti made another key move, trading Josh Giddey to the Chicago Bulls for Alex Caruso. Of course, Giddey was the subject of immense criticism in his last year with the Thunder because of his lackluster defense and struggles to shoot from outside.

With an All-Defensive menace in Caruso on the squad, the Thunder were able to go from a second-round exit to NBA champions. Considering Caruso was the only Thunder player with championship experience coming into the year, his presence on and off the floor was invaluable to the Thunder’s title run.

While winning a championship automatically makes the Thunder a winner of that trade, that sentiment is only growing stronger as the offseason progresses. This summer, Giddey is a restricted free agent, and his negotiations in Chicago have now lasted over a month.

Meanwhile, the Thunder have already extended Caruso, securing his future in Oklahoma City with a deal that got done during the season. Considering Caruso's importance to the Thunder's title, it isn't a stretch to say he got a bigger deal than the Thunder ever would have offered Giddey.

While Giddey wants to be paid somewhere in the $30 million per year range, the Bulls haven’t wanted to cave to that number. The Thunder likely didn’t either, which is why they chose to let this be Chicago’s problem last offseason.

Giddey never would have been in the market for that type of deal in Oklahoma City anyway, especially considering the team is in championship contention. While Giddey had a superb finish to the year and is clearly a talented player, his struggles to finish his tenure in Oklahoma City likely loom large for the Bulls or any other team when considering an offer sheet for Giddey.

While the Thunder are happy celebrating their NBA title and likely don’t care too much about some of the restricted free agency drama around the league, Giddey’s negotiations are still a nice reminder about the great trade Oklahoma City pulled off last summer.