Josh Giddey gives the Chicago Bulls a solid starting point guard with a unique offensive profile. But Bucks guard Ryan Rollins would be a much better fit — the Bulls just have to steal him as soon as possible while Milwaukee is at its most vulnerable.
Both franchises are rebuilding, but with a good amount of draft picks stashed away, Chicago is in a more enviable position. It may behoove the Bucks to move Rollins sooner rather than later to give themselves more assets — without its own 2027 first-round pick, Milwaukee has no reason to tank this season.
A young two-way guard like Rollins would be an upgrade over Giddey long-term, and the Bulls should move immediately to add him to the core pair of Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis.
The time is right for the Bulls to acquire Bucks guard Ryan Rollins
Rollins' career has been more of a slow burn to this point. The 24-year-old was a second-round pick of the Atlanta Hawks in 2022, but was immediately dealt to Golden State. He never caught on with the Warriors and was traded to Washington in the deal that sent Chris Paul to the Bay Area and Jordan Poole to D.C.
He was waived by the Wizards less than a year later, signed a two-way deal with the Bucks, and then broke out in a big way last season.
The former Toledo Rockets standout played in 74 games (67 starts) with Milwaukee and averaged 17.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 32.1 minutes per contest. He's a threat from deep — he shot 40.6 percent from 3-point range on an average of 6.1 attempts — and a high-intensity defensive menace who finished fourth in the NBA among all guards last season in total deflections.
At 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds, Rollins doesn't possess the size Giddey does, though his surprising 6-foot-9 wingspan is an inch longer than the 6-7 Aussie's. He's not the same playmaker or passer — Giddey is borderline elite at both — but he would give the Bulls more of what they need.
Rollins would be an ideal fit alongside Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis
Adding one of the league's most disruptive point-of-attack defenders to the length and athleticism Wilson and Buzelis have on the backline would create a fearsome defense.
And Chicago could sorely use Rollins' ability to stretch the floor. The Detroit native is more of a threat than Giddey to impact the game off the ball as well.
Rollins is on the books for just $4 million this season compared to Giddey's $25 million. He'll surely decline his $4 million player option next summer, but the Bulls should have no trouble locking him into a long-term deal; his new contract shouldn't exceed the average annual value of Giddey's current deal, and Chicago has no trouble fitting that onto its cap sheet.
Along with Rollins, Milwaukee has Tyler Herro, Brayden Burries, Kasparas Jakucionis, Kevin Porter Jr., AJ Green and the immovable contract of Gary Trent Jr. in the backcourt. If the Bulls are willing to deal a lottery-protected first-round pick in this coming draft plus a few second-rounders, it should get the Bucks' attention.
Acquiring a budding two-way star like Rollins is the type of move executive VP of basketball operations Bryson Graham needs to be making as he builds a long-term contender in the Windy City.
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