The Reports on Josh Giddey are All Over the Place

The Reports on Josh Giddey are All Over the Place

You know, one of the worst parts about this time of year in the off season, the dead of the off season, where we’re all just kind of waiting for training camp and the season to begin, but that’s the amount of rumors, conflicting reports, contradictory statements, what I call dead off season slop coming every which way from various media outlets and NBA insiders because, of course, they need content. They need clicks and storylines to keep their revenue going even during the course of these dry months of basketball. But it’s gotten to the point where I’ve almost become disillusioned by any report that comes out because you don’t know what to believe anymore. And I’m mainly referring to all the rumors and speculation around the remaining restrictive free agents who still remained unsigned. Of course, the player I’m paying attention to most is Josh Giddy. And to be honest, I’ve kind of just resigned myself to the fact that until we see the final deal, until we get that confirmation from Shams, until we get the Shams bomb that will come at some point between now and October 1st, I’m not taking anything I see or hear seriously. And here’s why, too. Because we went from the start of the offseason where most insiders, including Bulls insider Casey Johnson, were saying, “Yeah, this isn’t the type of deal that’s going to be finalized right away. It’s likely going to take some time, but both sides are motivated to get a deal done. Giddy wants to stay in Chicago. The Bulls want him to remain in Chicago. But then summer league rolled around and you saw that Giddy, while he was in Vegas, was not sitting with the other veterans courtside to watch the Bulls games. He really wasn’t anywhere to be found close to the Bulls from posts that you saw from players on social media. And as such, you saw reports, namely from Jake Fischer of the Stein Line reporting that it’s clear there is some tension there between Giddy and the front office. Contract negotiations must not be going very well. But then you hear from other insiders that actually Giddy met with Billy Donovan privately and those conversations were productive and that contract negotiations remain ongoing but in a positive manner. But then of course the days and weeks go by still no deal. And so naturally fans start to question, hey are these discussions around Josh Giddy’s contract going well? Why are they taking so long? Are the Bulls lowballing him and running the risk of him just taking the qualifying offer, becoming disgruntled, and bouncing as an unrestricted free agent next summer? And as we got further and further into it, you see, all right, Giddy is still wanting $30 million a year, while the Bulls are remaining firm on 20 million. That has been reported from multiple outlets that there remains a $10 million gap between the Bulls and Giddy’s representation, which is pretty significant, especially when you’re talking about a multi-year agreement. And more recently, you heard yet again from Jake Fischer that the most strained restrictive free agency relationship between the player and their respective team is Josh Giddy, which is surprising given everything we’ve been hearing about Jonathan Kaminga and the boiling frustrations between him and the Warriors. Likewise, the same between Cam Thomas and the Brooklyn Nets, who is more than likely expected to take the qualifying offer at this point. But according to Jake Fischer’s reporting, things are a bit contentious between the Bulls and Josh Giddy. And he further went on to say this as of just last week, which I briefly talked about with Adam Me in my last video, that not only is Giddy threatening to take the qualifying offer, but that there are multiple teams interested or at least have reached out to the Bulls to explore a signing trade, including the Golden State Warriors. Now, when this report first broke, I said on Twitter, I really don’t see how that’s possible. I don’t see the fit of Giddy in Golden State. Nor do I see a path of a sign in trade even working outside of a straight signin trade of Kaminga for Giddy, which the Bulls would never do, especially when they want to keep Josh Giddy. The only way they would even consider a signin trade is if they get enough value in return in the form of a trade and Kaminga alone is not enough. In fact, I would argue that it’s a downgrade of a trade for the Bulls overall if they did a straight swap of Kaminga for Giddy. But then just days later, you got this report from Brett Seagull of Clutch Points where he states that the Warriors are not actively pursuing Giddy this off seasonason and that both organizations have confirmed that there’s no potential signing trade involving both players and that the Warriors still remain firm on their offer with Kamingo, which according to multiple reports has been a 2-year deal at $45 million with a team option in the second year. and in fact some reports even indicating that the Warriors have shut down all potential sign and trade discussions on Jonathan Kaminga. To further add to it, you had Jamal Collier of ESPN stating that while yes, contract negotiations have dragged on for months now, both sides are almost certain to come to an agreement and that Giddy remains part of the Bull’s long-term plans. You have Casey Johnson seeing similar things that the relationship still remains positive. It’s just a matter of finalizing a deal that is fair and makes sense for both sides. So anyway, all of this to say the reporting on all this is a bit all over the place in terms of what is really going on behind the scenes. And as I said before, we never truly know how these types of discussions are going behind closed doors. We already know the Bulls like to keep things close to their chest and not letting things leak to the media. Sure, insiders, they have their connections and are reporting on what they hear from their sources and context around the league, but it’s anyone’s best guess at this point in terms of where this is going. I just hope the Bulls don’t screw this up. Like I like that they’re using their leverage to their advantage. That’s what they should be doing knowing they have the upper hand and that Giddy only has so many options when it comes to getting the kind of contract he wants. They know cap space around the league is dried up. There aren’t that many avenues in the form of a signing trade, which teams aren’t showing much interest in. I like that they’re holding firm and not paying Giddy $30 million per year. Just because the Magic gave Suggs that kind of deal and the Raptors even more for Emanuel quickly. Like just because other teams overpaid for their players does not mean the bulls should do so as well. But at the same time, and yes, I know I’ve talked about this before, there is a fine line between staying firm, playing a little hard ball, and using your leverage versus strongarmming and lowballing what you consider to be a foundational piece of your franchise going forward. Like regardless of how you feel as a fan about Giddy truly being that foundational piece, that’s how the Bulls feel about him. And you don’t want to piss him off to the point where he doesn’t want to play for your franchise anymore. Have it negatively impact his play going into next season, playing on a contract where he feels he got paid less than what he’s worth or worse. He takes the one-year qualifying offer, becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer, and then leaves for nothing in return. And now you wasted your most valuable trade asset in Alex Caruso just to have two years of Josh Giddy. Not a horrible scenario because you could argue eh maybe it’s better to just have even more cap space and flexibility than overpaying for Josh Kitty when there is not really a market for him. But still isn’t ideal to lose a young productive player for nothing in return. The Bulls have to consider the human element of this. The relationship side of basketball instead of treating this purely as a financial transaction. Maintaining a healthy relationship with your players is paramount when developing out a young core of players. So anyway, at this point, I’m kind of done with all the Josh Giddy rumors and conflicting reports on where things stand. I’m not believing anything until it’s official and that he’s ressigned with the team, which I firmly believe will happen. We just don’t know when and for how much. Anyway, I’d love to hear what you guys think and where you all think this is going with Giddy as we head further and further into the offseason. Let me know in the comments. As always, be sure to subscribe and I will see you in the next

Discussing the conflicting reports on Josh Giddey’s contract extension and why we should temper our expectations

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