This Might Actually Give Josh Giddey Some Leverage

This Might Actually Give Josh Giddey Some Leverage

We are now what 37 38 days since free agency began on the evening of June 30th. And despite most of the league’s free agents now signed to their respective teams, the four restricted free agents still remain unsigned without a new contract. And yes, that includes Josh Giddy, who by all accounts, him and the Bulls still remain far off on a deal. However, some of the recent contract extensions that were announced, not free agency deals, but extensions that have happened in the last week or so, could actually impact Josh Getty’s next deal. and actually give him some leverage in these negotiations with the Bulls. Probably not much, but it’s something. How, you might ask? Well, let’s talk about it. So, what’s going on everyone? You’re listening to Bulls Central here. Hope you’re all doing well. Now, I don’t doubt that the contract extension with Josh Giddy is likely going to drag out even possibly going into September. I actually expect that to be the case with all the other restricted free agents in Kaminga, Grimes, and Ken Thomas as well. But regardless, I do think a couple of the recent contract extensions we saw around the league could in fact weigh in Getty’s favor to demonstrate to the Bulls that he’s worth more than the reported $20 million per year the Bulls have been pushing for. And the two contracts I’m talking about specifically are the extensions that we saw in Mikuel Bridges where the Knicks extended him to a 4-year $150 million deal and Darren Fox to that max contract extension to the tune of four years $229 million. Now, don’t get me wrong, Josh Giddy is not on the level of either of these guys. In fact, all three of these players are very different when it comes to their overall skill set. This by no means should indicate that Giddy should be getting the type of money Fox and Bridges should be making. That said, though, Bridges, as good as he is, as a two-way player, high impact, winning type player, always available. Literally, the dude never gets injured. But also, he’s never made an all-star game. He’s not an insanely good shooter. In fact, at times, he’s actually been very inconsistent with his shot. Believe it or not, he actually shot worse than Giddy did from three-point range last season. And not only that, he’s about to turn 29 in just a few weeks. Whereas Giddy, as we like to always say, is only 22 years old. So even though Giddy might not necessarily be the player Mikuel Bridges is in terms of his overall impact on the court, there are more years and more upside that favor Josh Giddy over a player like Bridges. If I’m Josh Giddy’s agent, I’m using the Bridges extension as a clear example for why Giddy deserves more money. Because if the market is saying Mikuel Bridges is worth $37 million annually, a good player, but not a great player, not a star, then Josh Giddy deserves more than $20 million per year. Now, just because the Knicks overpaid for Bridges, both in terms of the amount they traded to get him, where they moved what, five or six first round picks or whatever it was, and now overpaying him with his contract extension, that doesn’t mean the Bulls should overpay Giddy as well. But it is a benchmark, a market indicator that Giddy’s camp can use to drive up his own value. Because while it was a small sample size, yes, it was March and April basketball as everyone likes to say, but Giddy post all-star break actually looked better than Mikuel Bridges did, especially when you factor in as well the age difference knowing that Giddy hasn’t even entered his prime yet. Well, you know what you’re getting with Muel Bridges. Now, for Dear Fox, obviously Fox is a better player than Giddy. No one is questioning that. When Fox is healthy, he’s an all-star, a professional bucket getter, insanely athletic, can punish you at the rim with his crafty finishing ability, and he has a knack for getting the foul line. But Fox getting a max contract, that really surprised me. I did a whole video on this on my second channel, M1 Hoop, so I won’t go into it in great detail here, but based on what we saw from Fox last season, especially after he was traded to the Spurs before he got sidelined for the rest of the season, like, forget about the injury concerns for a minute, even when he was playing, Fox does not scream max player to me. I know the league throws around max contracts, even sometimes for players who aren’t worth that kind of money based on their production. But giving a player like Fox, after the kind of season he had and the injury that he’s coming off of, 30% of the cap and over $55 million annually all the way to $63 million annually by the final year of that deal. And not to mention the fact that the Spurs now added Dylan Harper. They have Stfan Castle winning rookie of the year. Again, I’m sure the Spurs will figure it out, but that’s an overpay if I ever saw one. And you know what? If I’m Josh Giddy, if I’m his agent, I’m not looking at this as an overpay. I’m looking at it as another example to demonstrate the going rate for a starting point guard in the NBA. In the case with Fox, yeah, he’s a better player, but is he two times the player Josh Giddy is? Because he’s going to be making more than double than that of what the Bulls are wanting to offer Giddy. In fact, nearly triple if you consider the fact that Fox is going to be making over $60 million by the fourth year of that deal. Look, I want the Bulls to get a good deal for Josh Giddy. Like as a fan, I’m more focused on how this benefits the team rather than necessarily the player. But as I’ve said so many times, even during this past season, you also have to factor in the human element of this, the relationship side of basketball that is so critical in this league. You might have all the leverage in the world, but giving your player a low ball offer that sticks with them and is going to have an impact on their play if they feel they are being paid below their value. And now Giddy is seeing some of the other guys get these massive contracts around the league, these massive contract extensions, players who aren’t even allstars in the NBA, players who are older than him and don’t have the kind of upside he does. He’s going to feel disrespected and a bit of animosity towards this team who claim to view him as a foundational piece. So my hope is the Bulls, especially after some of these extensions, find some middle ground. Both sides can make some concessions on their end for a new deal. a deal that is fair but also doesn’t put the Bulls in a position where they’re hamstrung on their cap sheet for the future. As we’ve said before, the longer this drags out, the messier it’s going to get. Now, quick side note, it was reported by Brett Seagull of Clutch Points that he expects the Bulls and Giddy will come to a resolution on a three-year deal. I like Seagull. He’s pretty credible when it comes to his insider connections and information, but he has been wrong in the past, and so I always take reports like this with a grain of salt until it is announced by Shamshania. But if it is true and the Bulls and Giddy reach a agreement on a three-year deal, I mean, depending on the amount, I’d be fine with that. And it would be a scenario where it would actually work out for both sides. Gives the Bulls some added flexibility to pivot and get Giddy off of their books earlier if it doesn’t work out. And then for Giddy, maybe he doesn’t get the annual amount that he’s looking for on a three-year contract, but it’s three years guaranteed money, and it allows him to enter unrestricted free agency earlier to secure an even bigger contract than signing a 5-year deal on a less than ideal annual amount. Anyway, I don’t know about you guys, but every time I get a Shams notification, my heart always races a bit, thinking, “This is going to be the one. This is going to be the one on Josh Giddy.” And then I’m always disappointed to see it’s another random two-way player agreeing to another two-way deal with a new team. But you guys know I’ll keep you posted and share my reactions to all of it whenever it does in fact happen that Gideon and the Bulls have agreed on a new contract. But in the meantime guys, as always, be sure to subscribe and I will see you in the next one.

Discussing how the recent contract extensions around the league could impact Josh Giddey’s next contract

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