The race to re-sign Josh Giddey has been a rather slow, monotonous journey, with the Chicago Bulls being the only participants. At least, that was the general assumption considering the Brooklyn Nets were the lone rival team with viable salary cap space to work with at the beginning of free agency.
However, it's since been revealed that Chicago isn't the only organization with its sights set on signing the promising 22-year-old guard—and spoiler, it's not the Nets. During an Insider Notebook livestream, NBA pundit Jake Fischer reported, "There have been multiple teams who have reached out to Josh Giddey's representation about having interest in [Giddey]. Golden State is one of them."
One would expect the Aussie to garner some interest on the free agent market. He enjoyed his best season with the Bulls, as he displayed a vastly improved perimeter shot and put up borderline All-Star numbers following Chicago's decision to part ways with Zach LaVine at the trade deadline.
The Warriors, among other teams, have reached out to Giddey
Nevertheless, salary cap space, or a lack thereof, was a sticking point in negotiations. Besides the non-tax midlevel exception, valued at roughly $14.1 million, there weren't the necessary funds league-wide to land even an above-average free agent. Unless, of course, a sign-and-trade came to fruition.
Fischer mentioned the increasingly valuable sign-and-trade mechanism as a ploy the Warriors could use to poach Giddey from the Bulls. The insider said, "Golden State would be interested, depending on how the machinations could go, in some type of [Giddey] and Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade."
Following the bombshell, Fischer referenced the Warriors' longtime admiration of Giddey, dating back to the 2021 NBA Draft. Fischer said, "The Warriors were prepared on draft night… for Jonathan Kuminga to go to number six to Oklahoma City, and [the Warriors] were ready to take [Giddey] number seven."
It's no secret that Golden State has longed for playmakers to surround all-world marksmen Steph Curry with. Draymond Green has assumed the reins, but Giddey surely would have added a different dimension to the Warriors' offense.
Yet, despite multiple teams, including the Warriors, interest in orchestrating a sign-and-trade to land Giddey, the Bulls have reportedly been standoffish. The insider frankly stated, "There is not a lot of enthusiasm from these rival teams about calling the Bulls' Front Office and working out a sign-and-trade."
Fischer would go on to elaborate, expressing, "The Bulls have been telling league personnel since the combine that 'they love Josh,' he's their point guard, 'they want to bring him back,' 'they don't want to talk sign-and-trade.'"
Chicago's belief in Giddey has never wavered, as evidenced by Fischer's sentiment. The Bulls traded two-time All-NBA Defensive selection Alex Caruso to acquire the then-21-year-old point guard. It's well-known that the Bulls value Giddey and subsequently prefer to sign him to a long-term deal.
Even though he remains unsigned, that doesn't mean the Bulls are content with letting him walk—not even as part of a sign-and-trade. However, with multiple suitors reportedly engaging Giddey's representation, a new, exorbitant contract securing the Aussie for multiple seasons might come sooner than we think.