The Confusing Chicago Bulls – Josh Giddey Standoff

The Confusing Chicago Bulls – Josh Giddey Standoff

[Music] Compared to what they’ve had the past couple years, the Chicago Bulls are actually having a decent off seasonason so far. They traded an injury-prone Lonzo ball to the Cavs in exchange for a 24year-old defensive beast in Isaac Aoro. And they also signed 25-year-old guard Trey Jones to a surprisingly friendly three-year 25 million deal. Most notably, with the 12th overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, the Bulls landed French forward Noah Assenu, who’s still kind of raw, but his long-term upside is projected to be comparable with that of Modus Bazel. While those moves are far from game-changing, they’re actually the types of decisions that could pay dividends for this franchise in the long run. Though moving on to the bad part of their off seasonason, the Bulls still couldn’t find a trade partner with whom to offload the contract of Nicolvich, who is overpaid for his age, as well as Patrick Williams, who’s also overpaid for his production, neither of whom seems to fit Chicago’s long-term plans. But the Bull’s potentially bigger screw-up this off season could lie within how they’ve been dealing with the Josh Giddy contract situation. Well, there’s no question as to where Josh Giddy will play next season. He is a restricted free agent, which means Chicago can match any deal offered to him by another team. But at this point in the summer, wherein cap space around the NBA has pretty much already dried up, Giddy and the Bulls are basically left alone at the negotiation table with an Australian guard reportedly chasing a deal worth 30 million a year, while the Bulls reportedly want to settle for an amount closer to just 20 million annually. Well, sure, at first glance, Giddy is a ball dominant point guard who came into Chicago with a shaky jumper and who was basically shipped off by Sam Prey to polish off the OKC Thunder Championship roster. But on the other hand, at 6’8 and still just 22 years old, Giddy is one of the most gifted playmakers in the entire NBA, who happens to also be super productive. In fact, he joined Nicole Joic and Luca Donuch as the only three players in the NBA to average at least 14 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists per game last season. Most notably, after the bull shipped off Zack Lavine during the trade deadline, Giddy was given more control of the team’s offense, which resulted to him averaging a near triple double with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assist together with one and a half steals per game on a highly efficient 62% true shooting after the All-Star break, which are basically Nicola Joic type stats. And those aren’t just empty numbers as Giddy’s mid-season breakout has helped fuel Chicago’s late season surge that saw the team win 15 of their last 21 games of the year. This led the Bulls to the play in tournament. And while they bowed down to the Miami Heat, Giddy still put up a 25 and 10 double double in that play in tournament loss. Sure, there are still questions as to whether or not Giddy could sustain that type of star level production for a whole season, but obviously it’s not totally absurd for him to be demanding 30 million per year, especially when certain baselines have already been established around the NBA. Take Jabari Smith Jr. for example. This off season, he was signed by the Houston Rockets to a 5-year 122 million deal, which breaks down to around 24 million per year. At first glance, that might look like a gigantic contract for someone who’s projected to be a fifth or even a sixth option for Houston next season. But looking at how his contract is structured, Smith will be making 27.4 million during the last year of his deal, which is in the 2031 season. And looking at how the salary cap threshold and financial aprons are projected to keep expanding over the next couple years based on 10% annual cap increases, the non- taxpayer mid-level exemption is projected to already be at around 21 million for that 2031 season. Obviously, the mid-level exemption is usually something teams use to sign regular rotation bench players, which is why it’s crazy that during the last year of his deal, Jabari Smith Jr. will be making just around 6 million more than the mid-level exemption. So even if he ends up to be just a regular starting caliber forward at the very least his 122 million deal will still look like a reasonable contract in the long run. But if in about 5 years time Smith Jr. emerges to become something like Chris Bosch who was his usual comp back when Houston selected him third overall in 2022 then that 122 million deal is definitely going to look like a massive bargain for the Rockets. Now this is when you can start to put Josh Giddy into the equation. Last season, Josh Giddy and Jabari Smith Jr. practically averaged the same number of minutes per game. And sure, as expected, given his role in Chicago, Giddy averaged more points, rebounds, and assists than the 6’10” Jabari Smith Jr. But then, Giddy also shot better from the field and from the three-point line with practically similar attempts per game. Even when you dive into the advanced stats, you’ll see that even with higher usage, Giddy had hit a significantly higher per and books plus minus rating as well as slightly higher win shares. So, if the Houston Rockets were able to pay Jabari Smith Jr. an average of around 24 million per year, the question is why can’t Chicago pay Josh Giddy more? To take it a little further, let’s also look into the Jaylen Suggs example. Suggs, just like Giddy, is also his team starting point guard, and Orlando signed him to a 5-year 150 million deal, which breaks down to 30 million per year, the same amount Giddy reportedly wants. Last season on practically similar playing time, Jaylen Suggs averaged just around one and a half more points per game than Josh Giddy. But Giddy basically outrebounded and outass assisted Suggs while also shooting significantly better both from the field and from the three-point line than him. And also looking at the advanced numbers, Suggs had a slightly higher usage than Giddy. But again, Giddy dominates Suggs in metrics such as per BPM rating as well as win shares. Sure, Jaylen Suggs is a much better overall defender, but Giddy was still the overall better player on a not terribly different usage. So, considering Orlando paid Jayen Suggs 30 million per year as their team’s fourth or even fifth option, I’m definitely not blaming Giddy for wanting that kind of value from Chicago as well. Again, we can tie this up with the league’s cap situation. If Josh Giddy receives a hypothetical 5-year 150 million deal, assuming 10% cap increases during the last year of his contract in the 2030 season, Giddy’s salary will basically take up just a tiny 12.9% of Chicago’s cap room, which I think will be a bargain for the type of player that Giddy can eventually become, especially if you project him to be at least a third option for a Bulls playoff team. Sure, there are reasons why the Bulls might be hesitant to give in to Giddy’s asking price. First of all, Chicago’s front office have a ton of leverage in contract talks this summer because again at this point even the Brooklyn Nets who are the only team to enter the summer with max cap space had already acquired Michael Porter Jr’s massive contract in addition to the team also drafting a number of guards which makes them an unlikely suitor for Giddy. The Bulls front office might also be starting to believe that overpaying players, even the starc caliber ones, might actually make those players untradeable in the long run, as has been the case with Zack Lavine. They also might be scared to pay for upside because of how the Patrick Williams situation has been playing out after they paid him 90 million for 5 years. But then, I think there are easily a ton of indications that Josh Giddy is a different type of player. Sure, at this point, Giddy still isn’t an all-star, but in my opinion, you could make a larger argument for why he might even be worth more than most people think. First off, Giddy is an unusually young player in this kind of situation. Despite already having four years of NBA experience, he still won’t turn 23 until October, and yet has already recorded the 13th most triple doubles among all active NBA players. And there’s also the fact that he was a starting point guard for a 57 win OKC Thunder team. So, I think Giddy’s accomplishments to date on a rookie contract must be seen in the context of players who are usually at least a year or two years older by this point in their NBA careers. Well, sure, Giddy’s pull-up game is still very limited, and there are still questions about his three-point shot, but with that said, he shot a career-high 37.8% from deep last season, including a highly efficient 45.7% mark after the All-Star break on four attempts per game. If I were a Bulls fan, I’d probably be more concerned with his overdependence on his signature push shot inside the paint. But it’s worth noting that in Chicago, Giddy’s also started to display more eagerness in terms of dissecting defenses off the dribble, which enables him to go downhill and to score at the basket more often, which has resulted to Giddy converting a solid 66% of all his attempts at the rim since the All-Star break. While he’s not a lockdown defender by any means, but with him coming into Chicago with a slightly bulkier frame, Giddy now looks more suited defending shifty guards and even some bigger wings than when he was in OKC. As part of his late season surge, Giddy’s also displayed a renewed energy as an offball disruptor using his quick hands and instincts, which has allowed him to average a career best 1.2 steals per game last season. In addition to him also showing flashes of being a help sidehot blocker. Add in the fact that Giddy is already one of the best rebounding guards in the NBA and already one of the best playmakers out there, especially for a 6’8 player, and Giddy should always allow Chicago to run a ton of interesting lineup combinations when he is on the floor. Well, Chicago doesn’t have the ideal roster built around Giddy right now. But if Modus Bazllis is eventually going to develop into someone like Giannis in the Takmpo, then Josh Giddy is exactly the type of point guard that can get him easy looks both in the half court and in transition. Giddy is also exactly the type of passer you want if you want to take advantage of Noah Asen’s skill set as a hybrid forward and a transition attacker. Overall, surround Giddy with a couple more shooters and a big man who could be a constant lob threat and I think Chicago could build something special. The problem is if the Bulls continue to lowball Giddy throughout this negotiation process, Giddy could eventually just bet on himself and take the 11 million qualifying offer, which makes him an unrestricted free agent next off season. And that is something that could pose huge risk for the Bulls front office. Sure, there’s the possibility of Giddy playing mediocre next season, which could cause his stock to drop in the 2026 free agent market. This will then allow Chicago to resign him next summer for practically the same amount they’re offering him right now. But then, if Giddy continues to double down in his production over the second half of last season, or if he takes an even bigger leap to all-star level, then the Bulls will definitely have to pay him much more than 30 million per year. Although if the Bulls aren’t comfortable doing that, they still have Giddy’s bird rights which they can use to their advantage in a potential sign and trade next summer. But then the worst case scenario for Chicago is even if they eventually decide to pay Giddy more than 30 million per year next summer out of spite for what happened this off season, Giddy could still take similar money and just sign with another team of his choice in free agency. And in the end, Chicago will have nothing to show for the Alex Caruso trade. Well, at the very least, Giddy definitely has to prove that he can become a more consistent defender and a real outside shooting threat. But aside from those, all indications point to him being that type of young special promising player that Chicago’s never had for quite some time now. And the Bulls not being able to lock up Giddy to a long-term extension just puts them in jeopardy of losing a potential star as early as next off season. [Music] But what do you think is a reasonable extension for Josh Giddy? Let me hear your thoughts in the comments section below. And again, if you’re new to the channel, please consider subscribing as well. Again, this has been Real Balls, and I’ll see you on the next one. Peace.

#NBA #ChicagoBulls #JoshGiddey #LukaDoncic #NBAhighlights #basketball

The NBA offseason is quiet but one of the few remaining free agents has been Josh Giddey. The Australian guard has been unable to agree on a deal to remain with the Chicago Bulls beyond next offseason. Giddey has been traded by Sam Presti to polish the OKC Thunder and their championship roster with the help of the Bulls, as the Thunder received Alex Caruso in exchange for Josh Giddey. Now the Chicago Bulls have a solid young core composed of Giddey, Coby White, Matas Buzelis, and Noa Essengue. Skinny Luka Doncic has been the talk of the offseason, and players like Kevin Durant have found a new NBA home. But can the Bulls eventually agree on a contract extension with Giddey who is arguably already the teams best player?

The Bulls will also try to agree on a buyout with Nikola Vucevic and the Lakers are reportedly interested. Giddey is reportedly seeking a deal worth 30 million annually, while the Bulls are not willing to pay him close to that amount. After the Bulls franchise have been forced to offload players such as Zach Lavine, DeMar Derozan or Lonzo Ball, will they also have to trade Giddey in the long run?.The winners of the NBA offseason include teams like Luka Doncic and the Lakers, Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks, and Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. But can the Bulls also win by signing Josh Giddey to an extension?

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