Source: I’ve watched every single game of Josh Giddey’s career save for maybe two or three.

It’s not a matter of hate. Giddey seems like a great teammate who connects well with the rest of the team off the court. I like him in interviews and think he’s very intelligent.

There’s two pretty large issues on the horizon, though. In his time since arriving in Oklahoma City, he’s not shown a single stretch of games where he’s shown that he can play off of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. That’s an issue for any starter, but it’s a major issue for a guy who’s likely going to demand $27,500,000+ in extension talks this offseason, which leads us to the largest issue…

We can’t afford to pay an awkward fit that much money, point blank. I’m not sure how familiar you all are with the new CBA, but once you go over the second apron, it becomes really damn hard to make moves as a whole. Giddey is not a guy worth going into the second apron for if you’re Sam Presti.

The largest issue to me this season specifically is that the development of Jalen Williams’ on ball ability has kind of outsourced Giddey, especially in the non-Shai minutes. Think about our starting lineup, Giddey is the fourth most effective on-ball player, but the least effective off-ball player. It’s a problem and the only answer is to either put the ball in his hands, or to not play him extended minutes, which has been a trend this season.