Josh Giddey will have a new responsibility on his shoulders after signing a four-year, $100 million contract extension in the offseason. With so much money tied to Giddey now, the Chicago Bulls will need him to become a complete player.
One aspect of his game that has been lacking throughout his career is defense -- though based on his comments at the team's media day, he seems committed to improving that this season.
Josh Giddey's No. 1 area of improvement this season is obvious
The Bulls as a team struggled on defense last season, especially early in the year. This wasn’t a surprise as they traded away their best defender from the season prior, Alex Caruso, in exchange for Giddey. Giddey himself was mostly a bad or neutral defender, but stepped it up a bit towards the end of the season.
On media day, Giddey recognized the need for him to play better defense. He views his own defensive effort as an extension of his leadership on the court, which is absolutely the correct approach. On offense, he was able to grow into a leadership role, especially after the All-Star break when he really got into a rhythm.
But the team lacked defensive leadership and often floundered on that end. The addition of Isaac Okoro, a stalwart defender, from the Cavs this offseason should help the team's defensive culture, but nothing has as much of an impact as your best/highest-paid player.
Giddey did show better effort last season when matched up with opposing teams' primary options, which he credited to increased intensity. However, he now needs to embrace the challenge of maintaining that intensity when guarding secondary or tertiary players.
Okoro may take many of the primary assignments, but Giddey must stay engaged off the ball for the Bulls' defense to perform at a high level.
Giddey also focused on communication as an aspect of his emerging leadership, which could bode well for defensive growth. Communication is arguably more important on defense than offense, and having someone call out coverages on the backline can make all the difference. Whether that’s Giddey himself or a teammate, his efforts to create a communicative culture will help the team tremendously.
Giddey has good size at the point guard position and can utilize that to create a defensive advantage for the Bulls. He can look around the league for other examples of big point guards disrupting plays on defense, such as Cade Cunningham in Detroit or former teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Oklahoma City. Their off-ball contributions on defense elevate their teams to higher levels and keep them engaged, even when they’re not guarding the other team’s best player.
Josh Giddey mustn’t rest on his laurels after signing his big contract. Further improvements are needed on his end to make the Bulls a true force in the Eastern Conference, but he seems to be on the right track. His focus on defense and leadership is exactly what the Bulls front office and fans wanted to hear.