It was barely two months ago when Josh Giddey remained a restricted free agent as we moved ever so close to training camp starting. It wasn't a sure thing that Giddey would get a long-term contract from the Bulls, as a one-year qualifying offer felt like it was in the cards. Negotiations seemed tense.
Thinking about that now feels a little crazy. Giddey eventually signed a 4-year, $100 million contract with the Bulls, which has quickly become one of the best value deals in the league. Instead of reverting back to the player Bulls fans were scared they were acquiring, Giddey has improved upon his impressive first season and looked all the parts of a star guard.
As John Hollinger of The Athletic puts it, "He’s playing like a max-contract superstar while occupying just $25 million on Chicago’s books for the three seasons after this one."
That about sums it up! Giddey's current line does look like that of an All-Star: 20.6 points, 9.9 rebounds, 9.6 assists per game on good efficiency is pretty dang impressive, and Giddey has passed the eye test while posting those numbers, too. In the first few years of his career, his numbers were good, but he was less than impressive to actually watch. That's no longer the case. He's a winning player, and ties together everything the Bulls do on offense.
Josh Giddey has gone from question mark to incredible value for Bulls
We're well over a season into the Josh Giddey experiement, and it no longer feels like his production is going to fall off a cliff anytime soon. Will it be the near 20 point-triple double he's averaging right now? Maybe not. But Giddey isn't surprising any defenses anymore; everyone knows he's the facilitator on the high-octane Bulls offense.
And they're still not stopping him! Giddey has three double-doubles in his past four games and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Can you imagine if this guy was on a one-year qualifying offer?
I begrudgingly commend the Bulls front office for their work on the Giddey contract. If he was playing this season on a qualifying offer, the entire vibe of this Bulls team would be so much more tense. He's not; instead, he's playing on a deal that has quickly become one of the best bargains in the league.