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Northwest Notes: Caruso, Giddey, Jazz Draft, Smith

June 22nd 2024 at 11:03am CST by Tristan Tucker

After issuing a candid statement on the one-for-one swap of Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso within a press release, Thunder general manager Sam Presti spoke to reporters on Friday to further explain the move.

“The opportunity to add Caruso is really unique,” Presti said, per The Oklahoman’s Justin Martinez. “Fortunately, everything lined up. If we couldn’t get the return that we wanted or the player that we wanted, we’d be in a different situation. But it worked out for everybody.”

Presti added that he’s sure Giddey would have returned and played in a bench role if the opportunity to acquire Caruso didn’t pan out. Although he praised Giddey, it was clear Presti was excited about the opportunity to add one of the league’s top guard defenders in Caruso.

“People often times look at height when they talk about wing players,” Presti said. “We look at effectiveness. His effectiveness on bigger wing players is extraordinary. … We’d rather someone who’s effective against those players than is ineffective but as tall.”

Caruso will join a Thunder team that ranked toward the middle of the pack in points allowed but registered a top-four defensive rating and ranked first in steals and blocks.

“The data on him is extremely high class,” Presti said. “It’s just another versatile player. … It’s all about the team [for Caruso]. It’s all about the technicalities and the curiosity about his own game and what it is he does well.  He’s a colossal competitor, and we want to have as many of those guys as we can in the building.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

  • Caruso, who played for the Oklahoma City Blue from 2016-17 under coach Mark Daigneault, is returning to Oklahoma City at the right time, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman writes in a subscriber-only piece. Caruso averaged 10.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocks last season while shooting 40.8% from three. He’ll look to help a Thunder team that finished first in the Western Conference this season get over the hump in the postseason.
  • The Jazz have an opportunity to bolster their roster with the Nos. 10, 29 and 32 picks in the 2024 draft, and they need to consider prospects who can shoot, defend or have a high feel for the game, Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune writes. In Larsen’s view, Utah should aim to take Colorado’s Cody Williams at No. 10, Kansas’s Johnny Furphy at No. 29 and Virginia’s Ryan Dunn at No. 32, if possible.
  • The Nuggets, who hold the No. 28 pick in Wednesday’s draft, are hosting G League Ignite forward Tyler Smith for a workout on Friday, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. The 6’11” big man averaged 13.7 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 36.0% from three on 3.7 attempts last season.
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