Last June, the Oklahoma City Thunder OKC made a massive trade with the Chicago Bulls where they sent Josh Giddey to the Windy City and received Alex Caruso in return. While Giddey was part of the process of building the young Thunder team, OKC has a win-now mentality, and Caruso was a piece of that puzzle.
It was during an interview with ‘Radio TexAgs” (Caruso attended Texas A&M for four seasons) where Caruso spoke about his role on that successful team:
“Being first in the West is a tough task because of the popularity of the Western Conference and the amount of talent it has. It’s weird now because we added some pieces in the offseason and re-signed some of the younger guys,” Caruso said. “Isaiah Harteinstein and I are phenomenal basketball players that can fit in really well with the team. On paper, we do a lot of things that those guys need to do that will help us be successful.”
Last season with the Bulls, Caruso averaged ten points, nearly four assists and four rebounds. In those 71 games, Caruso shot 47 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range. With such shooting performance, along with nearly two steals per game, the versatile point guard was exactly what the Thunder were looking for.
But this isn’t Caruso’s first rodeo with the Thunder franchise. After going undrafted in 2016, Caruso was able to make his NBA debut by joining the Thunder’s G League affiliate, the OKC Blue, which was coached by none other than current Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault.
Caurso went on to say that he has a great relationship with coach Daigneault and is extremely excited about what lies ahead for this Thunder team.
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