Chet Holmgren affected by Josh Giddey's departure

As he did not want to be a substitute next season, Josh Giddey left the Thunder this summer, traded for Alex Caruso and sent to Chicago. An important transfer for the Thunder, to increase its ambitions, but also to Chet Holmgren.

“I was really touched when I saw that Josh Giddey would no longer be in the team”he confesses to Paul George in the Sixers winger's podcast. “We were all with him, he was our buddy. He still is. He's going to do great things in Chicago. We're excited for him.”

This is the opinion of the Australian who believed that he “would be difficult to exploit everything [son] potential, to [son] opinion, on a team like Oklahoma City with so many talented guys who needed the ball in their hands, and were excellent with the ball in their hands. A change of scenery might allow me to do more.”

The presence of Alex Caruso, one of the best defenders in the league at his position, in this ambitious group will perhaps make the pill easier to swallow. A player like the 2020 NBA champion with the Lakers, twice elected to an All-NBA Defensive Team, can clearly help Oklahoma City progress, which had 56 wins and had won first place in the Western Conference in the 2023/24 season.

“We are looking forward to having Caruso on our team,” Chet Holmgren continues. “He's a great defender, he makes shots, he makes the moves that win games, he makes the right choices. He's the type of player you want to play with.”

How to read the stats? GM = Games Played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots Made / Shots Attempted; 3pts = 3-pointers / 3-pointers Attempted; LF = Free Throws Made / Free Throws Attempted; Off = Offensive Rebound; Def = Defensive Rebound; Tot = Total Rebounds; Pd = Assists; Fte: Personal Fouls; Int = Steals; Bp = Loose Balls; Ct: Blocks; Pts = Points.