When the Chicago Bulls acquired Josh Giddey, the front office began the process of diverging from a path that led to polarizing results. Rather than going all-in on pure scorers and 3-and-D prototypes who had yet to yield results, Chicago went the way of a well-rounded perimeter player.
Unfortunately, just one year later, Giddey is a restricted free agent who remains unsigned in August—a troubling truth that simultaneously reveals what the Bulls have learned from past mistakes.
In an ideal world, Chicago would keep its moving pieces in one place and build its future around the core it's assembled. Giddey could ultimately prove to be a significant contributor in that regard as a versatile contributor capable of producing in every phase of the game.
Jake Fischer of The Stein Line has revealed the simple reason Chicago hasn't yet ensured that Giddey will be around for 2025-26 and beyond: His asking price is roughly $10 million more per season than what the Bulls would prefer to pay him.
"League sources say that the Bulls made an offer of $80 million over four years to restricted free agent Josh Giddey when the offseason commenced on June 30. Giddey, of course, is seeking an annual salary in the $30 million range. Chicago has been anchored in the $20 million range in annual value ever since its original offer."
With a difference of nearly $10 million per season, Giddey and the Bulls appear to be nowhere near a resolution—a possibility that Chicago fans shouldn't be entirely upset about.
Bulls standing their ground a promising sign after past overpays
Giddey is coming off of the best regular season of his four-year NBA career. He averaged 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.8 offensive boards, 1.2 steals, and 1.5 three-point field goals made on a slash line of .465/.378/.781.
In the process, Giddey set career-best marks in rebounds, assists, steals, three-point field goals made, and three-point field goal percentage.
With this in mind, it's easy to understand why the 22-year-old free agent is asking for a significant salary increase. He's taken a clear step forward since joining the Bulls, seemingly fixing his jump shot and emerging as one of the most well-rounded players in the NBA.
In 2024-25, Giddey joined Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic as the only players in the NBA who averaged at least 10.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game.
That would seemingly make it an easy decision to re-sign Giddey and continue building with the core in place. Chicago went 21-18 over its final 39 games, thus proving that the current group has the tools to play at a postseason level as soon as 2025-26.
The Bulls simply aren't in the wrong to be reluctant to pay a player $30 million per season before confirming if they can make the leap to true star status.
Josh Giddey offers elite versatility, but are his primary skills strong enough?
Giddey's production has always been strong, but his play in the postseason ultimately convinced the Oklahoma City Thunder to trade him for Alex Caruso. It'd be unfair to hold that against a player who's yet to come anywhere near their athletic prime, but it should be factored into contract negotiations.
Ignoring the risk involved in signing a player to a lucrative contract would put Chicago in the same position it found itself in with Zach LaVine and Patrick Williams.
The Bulls signed LaVine to a five-year contract worth more than $215 million despite his injury history and the franchise making just one postseason appearance during his first five seasons with the team. He's one of the better shooting guards in the NBA, but his salary ultimately made the process of trading him a less than ideal endeavor.
The oft-maligned return was by no means detrimental to future success, but it epitomized the importance of the right contract valuation.
Williams, meanwhile, signed a five-year, $90 million contract, albeit while producing less than Giddey has managed to. This is by no means suggesting that Giddey will struggle in the way that Williams has, but instead a simple matter of acknowledging how lucrative contracts can limit team-building opportunities.
Chicago must find a way to re-sign Giddey or maximize the return in a potential trade, but it's wise to stand its ground and refuse to hand out a lucrative contract it isn't confident in.