Less than 24 hours later, the NBA World will have a chance to do what they love: Overreact. Team Canada (1-0) will face Team Australia (1-0) in a key matchup in Group A. Improving to 2-0 in what is considered the group of death will be a huge advantage for the winner in their quest for a medal in Paris.
This is the SEC in Olympic basketball, and in Oklahoma City, that will mean even more as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lou Dort take on teammate-turned-rival Josh Giddey.
The Thunder opted to send Guidi to Chicago to acquire Bricktown's Alex Caruso at the start of the NBA offseason. The defensive ace, a 40% 3-point shooter, was a perfect fit for Oklahoma City, and Guidi was ready to join a more accepting system in the Windy City that better suited his skill set.
So it's inevitable that both Guidi and Gilgeous-Alexander will produce countless highlights as these two unbeaten teams go head-to-head. There are even indications that Guidi, the No. 6 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, will play the best basketball of his career in this situation, but that won't depend on any decisions Oklahoma City makes heading into the summer.
Guidi is likely to continue to develop and perform at a much higher rate with the Bulls than he did with the Thunder, and will continue to do so in the years to come. This isn't a case of the Bricktown crew prematurely giving up on a young player, but rather a classic fit issue that can only be solved by a change of environment.
With Guidi dominating on the Olympic stage, now is not the time to retroactively evaluate the trade or change his stance. He was never meant to have this on-ball role in Bricktown. Watching the 6-foot-8 guard dominate the ball, run downhill to finish at the rim and put the ball in the ring was never going to be a reality with the Thunder.
Notably, the 21-year-old turned down a spot on the bench with the Thunder, opting for a more prominent role with the Eastern Conference team.
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