The Thunder aced the Josh Giddey-for-Alex Caruso swap. Caruso is a better 3-point shooter than Giddey, a better defender than Giddey and a better overall fit for a team that just won 57 games and will enter next season in the inner circle of championship contenders.

The Thunder won the trade.

The Bulls are getting pilloried for it.

Call me crazy, but I like it for both sides.

With one caveat: If trading for Giddey signals that the Bulls have finally picked a direction after circling the barren middle worlds of the NBA for far too long.

More: Thunder-Bulls trade grades: Grading OKC-Chicago deal of Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso

Despite operating in America’s third-largest market, the Bulls have basked in irrelevance. They’ve made the playoffs once in coach Billy Donovan’s four seasons and have won between 43% and 56% of their games in each of those seasons.

If Bulls executive Arturas Karnisovas brought in Giddey to play alongside DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine, back to the play-in it will be. But if Chicago moves on from its aging vets and embraces a better-late-than-never rebuild, then trading for Giddey is a good place to start.

We all know what Giddey isn’t. He isn’t a good 3-point shooter. He isn’t best suited to play off the ball. He isn’t a good defender. The confluence of these issues came to a head in the Thunder’s second-round loss to the Mavericks, when Thunder coach Mark Daigneault benched Giddey for the first time in Giddey’s three-year career.

We also know what Giddey is. He’s 21, younger than some players who will be picked in next week’s draft. He’s a 6-foot-8 point guard. A preternatural passer and a cheat code of an inbounder. He’s a good rebounder and a career 13.9 points-per-game scorer. He’s 17th among all active players in triple-doubles with 11.

Giddey became the odd man out in a Thunder backcourt headlined by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and an emerging star in Jalen Williams. The Thunder told Giddey he’d come off the bench next season.

More: Who is Alex Caruso? 5 things to know about new OKC Thunder guard acquired in Bulls trade

Why did the Thunder trade Josh Giddey?

Thunder general manager Sam Presti was transparent in the Friday morning press release announcing the trade.

“As we laid out to Josh how he could lean into his strengths and ultimately optimize our current roster and talent, it was hard for him to envision, and conversations turned to him inquiring about potential opportunities elsewhere,” Presti said in a statement.

Prest continued: “As always was the case, Josh demonstrated the utmost professionalism throughout the discussions. Josh has All-Star potential, but accessing that in the current construct of the Thunder would not be optimal for the collective. Based on these discussions we decided to move forward and prioritize what was best for the organization.”

Giddey hasn’t spoken publicly about the trade, but based on Presti’s statement, the Thunder was prepared to enter next season with Giddey on the roster, albeit in a reduced role. Giddey didn’t buy into the vision and inquired about a trade.

What resulted seems like a win for all involved. The Thunder upgrades its roster with Caruso, Caruso gets to join a contender, Giddey gets to spread his wings and the Bulls acquire a player who’s just a year removed from averaging 16.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists … as a 20-year-old.

“Fortunately, everything lined up,” Presti said Friday morning in a media availability over Zoom. “I wish all of these types of things could line up that way. If we couldn’t get the return that we wanted or the player that we wanted, then we’d be in a different situation. But it made sense for everybody. I thought it was a productive process.”

It’s no secret Giddey wasn’t being used properly in Oklahoma City. Even the Bulls knew that. They weren’t trading for the version of Giddey we saw this season, but the on-ball maestro he showed glimpses of in Years 1 and 2.

“I really believe in him,” Presti said Friday. “I think he’s going to do great. I think he’s a unique talent in a lot of ways, and he’s going to be good for a really long time. I would have loved for that to take place here, and I think he would have thrived in the role, but I also am a realist and understand that at that age, having started his career the way he did, that could be a difficult transition.”

MUST READ: With Josh Giddey traded to Bulls, Alex Caruso returns to Thunder at perfect time

Josh Giddey gets fresh start with Bulls

Of course you can’t blame Giddey for wanting to move on. He was the No. 6 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, showed immense promise as a rookie and sophomore and is now eligible to sign an extension.

His value, both monetarily and basketball wise, was going to be suppressed in Oklahoma City.

Moving to Chicago won’t erase the parts of Giddey’s game that made him a tricky fit in OKC, but shifting the pieces around Giddey is a worthwhile experiment.

The Thunder couldn’t have gotten a better return for Giddey. Caruso checks every box.

Could the Bulls have gotten a bigger bounty for Caruso? Most seem to think so, but who knows what kind of pick packages and or players Chicago turned down. Maybe the Bulls sold low, maybe they clutched Caruso too tightly for too long.

But at least Chicago did something.

The Bulls needed a fresh start. So did Giddey.

More: What OKC Thunder GM Sam Presti said about trading Josh Giddey to Bulls for Alex Caruso

Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Why Thunder-Bulls trade makes sense for Josh Giddey, Chicago