Josh Giddey and Nic Claxton could form a potent Bulls duo with this skills combo

The mere mention of Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey conjures a divisive set of perceptions about his offensive abilities.  Some Bulls fans consider Giddey to be a prolific table-setting point guard because of his gaudy assist-per-game counting stats.  

Other Bulls fans quickly counter that Josh Giddey is severely limited as a point guard due to a lack of credible pull-up jump shooting or consistent display of being able to break down a set half-court defense with his dribble.

Giddey may be on the verge of rewriting his NBA offensive reputation with the addition of center Nic Claxton to the Bulls’ 2026-27 roster. 

However, the manner in which Giddey and Claxton can create a formidable NBA offensive two-man game isn’t through obvious means: Giddey’s passing or Claxton’s rim running.  After all, we haven’t seen if Claxton’s back injuries are a thing of the past or the new reality for the foreseeable future of his NBA career.

The Giddey and Claxton NBA two-man game will more likely reach potent levels of output if both players are able to create maximum OFF-BALL chemistry in the Bulls' half-court offense.  

ALLCITY Network’s ALL NBA Podcast shared an insightful graphic on Thursday via social media that charts NBA players who set off-ball screens per 100 possessions versus players who use off-ball screens per 100 possessions.   

Surprise!  Josh Giddey and Nic Claxton are the lone Chicago Bulls representatives in this graphic, and that data point frames a wonderful opportunity for new offensive creativity in the Bulls' half-court offense that could lead to a new wrinkle developing in Giddey’s offensive game.

Josh Giddey is really a combo guard

Giddey increasing his off-ball offensive contributions is not really a wild idea, and the wheels for this offensive evolution in the Aussie guard’s game were set in motion as Giddey embraced taking more assisted three-point shot attempts in his first two seasons in a Bulls uniform.

The challenge that Bulls head coach Tiago Splitter should issue to Giddey for the 2026-27 season is to reimagine his basketball identity from point guard to combo guard with heavy emphasis on growing into a movement shooter. 

Giddey is already comfortable shooting threes off the catch.  The prospect of Giddey shooting threes off a Claxton pindown, with increased volume, may put him on a surefire path to NBA All-Star status.

Friends, this is the future of Bulls basketball, not Josh Giddey making things easier for his teammates; rather, Josh Giddey simply needs to make more off-ball threes. 

The sooner Bulls fans embrace Giddey’s future looking more like Klay Thompson instead of John Stockton, the sooner we’ll all be happier with Josh Giddey’s place on a Bulls roster.

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