The Chicago Bulls have made it clear that Josh Giddey is the franchise's future at point guard, but they're still stubbornly refusing to pay him like it.
Vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnišovas led the charge in trading Alex Caruso to Oklahoma City in exchange for Giddey, a younger player with more upside. One can quibble with the one-for-one swap (Karnišovas could have presumably landed some draft capital from the pick-laden Thunder), but the then-21-year-old Giddey fit more snugly with the Bulls' timeline and new vision.
The trade became a win-win. Caruso helped OKC win the 2025 NBA Championship, while Giddey had by far the best season of his career and proved he'll be an important piece for the next Bulls team that bypasses mediocre.
Unfortunately, therein lies the problem.
Bulls value Josh Giddey but remain uncompromising in negotiations
By all accounts, Chicago sees Giddey as its franchise point guard. He's still just 22 and is the ideal type of floor general head coach Billy Donovan needs to lead his up-tempo offense. The Bulls finished last season second in the NBA in pace and ran at every opportunity, whether off makes or misses.
The Aussie is a creative playmaker, flashy passer, high-IQ distributor and, at 6-foot-8, an excellent rebounder for a guard (he averaged a career-high 8.1 rebounds last season). He can snatch a board and immediately start a fast break, and Donovan can trust him to finish it by making the correct decision.
Giddey's lack of an outside shot severely limited his impact at the end of his time with the Thunder. Opponents sagged off him and played him off the floor. That changed dramatically last season, however, as he connected on a career-high 37.8 percent of his triples.
The Bulls have no plans on losing Giddey this summer, whether in free agency or via sign-and-trade, but the two parties are still in "a holding pattern" in negotiations, according to Bleacher Report insider Jake Fischer:
"Chicago doesn't want to lose Josh Giddey at all. They're not interested in having any discussion whatsoever [about trades for] Josh Giddey," Fischer said. "They traded Alex Caruso straight up for Josh Giddey when they had offers from various teams over the years for multiple first-round picks for Alex Caruso. That's how much they value Josh Giddey. They see him as a major focal point of the roster moving forward, but they are not going to engage in any sign-and-trade scenario, and they're not really going to move off their offer."
That last part of Fischer's report is key: The Bulls are offering Giddey around $20 million per season, while he's been seeking $30 million annually since last summer. Despite its high opinion of him, Chicago is not only refusing to pay Giddey what he wants, but Karnišovas and Co. reportedly won't even budge off that $20 million.
There are multiple ways to reach a compromise. Maybe it's a deal worth $25 million per season. Maybe there's a team or player option attached. It's not a black-and-white discussion.
It would behoove the Bulls to at least inch closer to what Giddey wants. If they truly believe he's a critical part of their future, now is not the time to penny-pinch.