Alex Caruso’s girlfriend, Haleigh Broucher, said she “is excited for a new chapter” after the Bulls traded the two-time All-Defensive Team guard to the Thunder on Thursday.
Chicago shipped Caruso to Oklahoma City for Josh Giddey, the No. 6 pick in the 2021 NBA draft, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reported that Caruso was “one of the league’s most coveted role players.”
Taking to her Instagram Story, Broucher shared an emotional farewell to the Bulls and recalled the couple’s time in Chicago.
“So many emotions at once. So proud of this man and so excited for this next journey,” Broucher wrote, adding the hashtag, “thunderup.”
In a separate post, Broucher praised the Bulls organization and its staff.
“I want to say how amazing the Bulls organization has been, how hard everyone works behind the scenes, and how grateful I am for all of the friends I’ve made along the way,” she wrote, including a photo of her making a Bulls gesture with her hands.
“I truly cherish each and every one of them and will miss them terrible. Excited for a new chapter and grateful for the old.”
It’s unclear when exactly Caruso and Broucher — who went public with their relationship on social media in 2022 — got together.
The 30-year-old Caruso will add a veteran voice for a tatented Thunder team that has one of the youngest rosters in the NBA.
He joins a young core that includes MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, and Jalen Williams, another first-round pick in that draft.
The Thunder finished the regular season as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, but were eliminated by the Mavericks in the second round of the playoffs.
Caruso developed into a solid two-way player after going undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2016.
The Thunder signed Caruso as an undrafted free agent to a training camp contract after he joined the 76ers for NBA Summer League. He was waived before the start of the 2016-17 season.
Caruso and Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault have a history.
Daigneault was Caruso’s head coach for the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s developmental team, in the 2016-17 season — when the guard signed with them after being waved by OKC.
The 6-foot-5 won the NBA Hustle Award for 2023-24.
In three seasons with the Bulls, Caruso tallied averages of 7.8 points, 3.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals.
He won a championship with the Lakers alongside LeBron James in the 2020 season, which took place in the NBA Bubble.
