Along with a near-total roster overhaul last offseason came a dramatic switch in scheme for the Bulls, as one of the most plodding half-court offenses in the NBA morphed into one of the speediest and highest-scoring. That refreshing change in identity would be all for naught if Chicago fails to hold onto Josh Giddey.
Out went DeMar DeRozan (Sacramento Kings) and Alex Caruso (Oklahoma City Thunder). In came Giddey and Matas Buzelis. Until he joined DeRozan in Sac Town at the trade deadline, Zach LaVine was the Bulls' featured scorer. Then it was Coby White, who was a top-10 scorer in the league over the final few weeks of the regular season.
Chicago went from 22nd in points per game (112.3) and 28th in pace (96.94) with DeRozan and Caruso to sixth in scoring (117.8) and second in pace (103.61) last season with Giddey at the helm.
The Bulls made a historic leap after the all-star break when they led the NBA in pace and were second in points per game (121.5).
Chicago Bulls would take a giant step back without Josh Giddey
Giddey averaged 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists in his 19 games after the break, and the Bulls went 17-10 in their last 27 contests. That was the 10th-best winning percentage of any team in the NBA over that span.
The 22-year-old floor general was the driver behind the wheel of Chicago's new offense. His creative passing skills and ability to read defenses are critical to what Donovan wants to accomplish. The fact that he went from being a below-average 3-point shooter to one who drained 37.8 percent of his triples last year is only icing on the cake.
The franchise is creating a young roster built to turn defense into transition buckets, and one that can space the floor and hit open shots. That's the kind of roster that can work with Giddey as its centerpiece.
Noa Essengue, the No. 12 pick in the 2025 draft, is an exceptionally long and smooth athlete who can create havoc and run the floor. Buzelis is expected to do the same in his second season. White is an ideal fit as a combo guard who can light up the scoreboard or run the offense.
The Bulls traded an injury-prone point guard in Lonzo Ball for Isaac Okoro, a defense-first wing who can hit open threes and has been underutilized as a transition weapon. Kevin Huerter came on late last year as a long-range sniper.
Giddey is the perfect orchestrator to lead this version of the Bulls -- one that is finally building a viable identity. Losing him would mean losing any progress the franchise has made as it attempts to move from a play-in afterthought to postseason antagonist.