Bulls’ Josh Giddey says rebuild doesn’t have to take years

Things look bleak right now for the Chicago Bulls. But Josh Giddey believes turnarounds can happen faster than people think.

Chicago has dropped 12 of its last 13 games and appears far from contention, yet Giddey pointed to his experience with the Oklahoma City Thunder as proof that rebuilds don’t always take forever.

“When I was in Oklahoma, we went from the worst team in the league to the best team in the league in 24 months,” Giddey said, via Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “We did it pretty quickly. A lot of rebuilds don’t necessarily happen that fast. Obviously, with the people and personnel we had it got sped up pretty quickly.”

Giddey added that the Thunder laid the groundwork early.

“Over those three years, we built a lot of really good habits, winning habits,” he said.

Of course, replicating Oklahoma City’s rapid rise may be easier said than done.

As Cowley noted, the Thunder’s rebuild featured a treasure chest of draft picks and young stars, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren.

Still, Giddey’s message was simple. Rebuilds don’t always have to drag on for years.