The Chicago Bulls are facing a big decision on just how much they value point guard Josh Giddey this summer.
The 6-foot-8 pro, still just 22, will be a restricted free agent this summer.
Dan Favale of Bleacher Report observes that the Bulls need to determine just at what price point they will walk away from contract negotiations.
Giddey is an exciting offensive talent, capable of racking up triple-doubles as an oversized guard with solid instincts as a scorer and passers.
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On the year, Giddey averaged 14.6 points on .465/.378/.781 shooting splits, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists a night in 70 healthy games. In the 22 games he played after the Feb. 8 trade deadline passed (and after the Bulls offloaded Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings), Giddey averaged 20.0 points on a .492/.453/.803 slash line, 9.9 rebounds, 8.5 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.0 blocks per bout.
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But where he struggles is on the other end — he lacks the strength or lateral quickness to be a high-level defender.
“Chicago must decide how much a useful-but-intensely-limited player is worth in restricted free agency,” Favale writes. “A dearth of cap space around the league theoretically allows the Bulls to squeeze him, but they seem unlikely to retain him at the Coby White cheapo special.”
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White, Giddey’s starting backcourt colleague, was inked to a three-year, $36 million contract prior to the 2023-24 season. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2026, and is theoretically extension-eligible when the new NBA season tips off this summer. That said, White has so thoroughly outplayed his current deal that it behooves him not to agree to an extension (which, at maximum, would pay him 140 percent of his extant contract) and wait to hit unrestricted free agency.
Giddey could be seeking a contract worth up to $30 million annually, according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (via Substack).
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“Whatever Giddey’s market, Chicago needs to have a predetermined line etched in concrete,” Favale opines. “It can’t afford to have another noticeably underwater contract on its books after last summer’s Patrick Williams’ debacle and with White speeding toward a mega raise in 2026 free agency.”
Williams was signed to a five-season, $90 million deal last summer, and instantly made that contract look horrific with his subpar play in 2024-25.
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