Josh Giddey was a distressed asset when the Chicago Bulls acquired him from the Oklahoma City Thunder in a one-for-one swap for Alex Caruso last summer. The 22-year-old's fairly massive potential was overshadowed by his woeful outside shooting and individual defense. Giddey had fallen out of favor with OKC Head Coach Mark Daigneault at the end of the 2023-24 season.
There were pros and cons to what was a bit of a confusing move by Chicago. Caruso didn't serve much of a purpose as a veteran on a team that was skewing younger, and taking a flier on Giddey made at least a little sense.
The fact that Bulls Vice President of Basketball Operations Arturas Karnisovas couldn't land a single one of what feels like 10,000 picks owned by the Thunder fit his poor roster building reputation and made the deal seem like a loss on Chicago's end.
Perhaps the biggest issue with the trade was Giddey's status as a restricted free agent at the end of this season. That made the move even riskier, as the Bulls have just one season to judge whether the Australian would be worthy of a long-term contract.
The jury's still out on that, but things have swung in Giddey's favor over the last five weeks, and he recently spoke to the media about what he's hoping this offseason brings and how much he's thinking about what will be a large payday coming his way this summer.
Josh Giddey speaks out on restricted free agency, future with Bulls
In an interview with The Chicago Sun-Times' Joe Cowley (h/t HoopsRumors), Giddey admitted this offseason is on his mind but that he's focused on the rest of 2024-25 which, considering his recent play, checks out:
"‘‘I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about it. Every player in the league thinks about it, but I don’t let it impact what I do on the floor. I don’t come out here with any preconceived ideas of how I want to play or the numbers I want to put up to earn X amount of dollars or whatever it may be.’’"Chicago Bulls' Josh Giddey
The former top-10 pick was cruising along at his usual pace this year, proving to be a savvy passer and a strong fit in head coach Billy Donovan's new up-tempo offense but still an inefficient shooter and weak (at best) defender.
Something clicked for Giddey on Jan. 20, though. He nearly posted a triple-double that night with 18 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to go with just two turnovers in a 13-point win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Giddey was 7-of-9 from the field and 2-of-4 from three. It was the first time he scored in double digits in five games, and he had only done so twice in nearly two weeks of action.
That Clippers game started a career-changing run for the 6-foot-8 floor general. Including that win in LA, Giddey has averaged 17.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.3 steals on 51.6 percent shooting from the field and 50.0 percent from beyond the arc. That stretch spans 16 games, which makes it difficult to believe it's a short-term fluke.
In the month of February, he's hitting 56.0 percent from deep on 5.0 attempts per game.
He's a career 32.7 percent three-point shooter.
Giddey and the Bulls couldn't find common ground on an extension before the season. He and his agent reportedly asked for a contract similar to that of Orlando guard Jalen Suggs, who signed a five-year, $150 million deal with the Magic that runs through 2028-29.
The likelihood of Giddey landing a contract that large was laughable until recently. Now, however, there's a chance a franchise with cap space this offseason—the Brooklyn Nets, perhaps—could offer Giddey that kind of cash.
The Bulls would then have a critical decision on their hands: Should they match an offer like that to keep their starting point guard in Chicago or would it be too expensive and risky for the franchise's long-term future?