The Chicago Bulls are toeing a dangerous line in Josh Giddey negotiations that appears to have alienated rival executives. In the pursuit of an escape from basketball limbo, the Bulls have been playing hardball when teams have come calling for trade negotiations.
Unfortunately, it appears as though Chicago has crossed the thin line between protecting their assets and being unreasonable in their trade demands.
The Bulls have been among the more active teams in the NBA since the 2024 offseason. They parted ways with mainstays such as Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, and Zach LaVine, and positioned the youth movement to take center stage—depending, of course, on if they re-sign or sign-and-trade Giddey.
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, the latter outcome has become less likely to transpire, as rival executives are reluctant to discuss trades with the Bulls due to the, "Troublesome," nature of past negotiations.
"There are other teams...that have interest in Josh Giddey, but they do not want to talk trade with Chicago being that the Bulls don't have interest in doing so. And generally speaking, Chicago's been a bit troublesome for other teams to discuss trades with for some time now."
Few will fault a front office for being reluctant to move on from meaningful talent for anything less than an ideal return, but the Bulls appear to be developing a dangerous reputation.
Rival executives reluctant to negotiate trades with Bulls
Assuming Giddey is re-signed for a reasonable price, Chicago will enter the 2025-26 season with intriguing momentum. It went 15-5 over its final 20 regular-season games in 2024-25, with Coby White taking a step forward as a scorer and the young core showing captivating signs of potential.
Unfortunately, re-signing Giddey is a process that's taken nearly two full months of free agency—and there doesn't seem to be a concrete answer on when it will finally be resolved.
A sign-and-trade is a possibility if the two sides fail to come to terms on a new deal. In that scenario, Giddey would likely secure the contract he's hoping for and the Bulls would walk away with a return on their investment, whether that be players, draft picks, or a combination of the two.
The hurdles involved in bringing Giddey's restricted free agency to an amicable end, however, appear to be greater than a potential gap in annual salary preferences.
Chicago is operating with even less leverage in Giddey negotiations than anticipated with rival executives reportedly hesitant to discuss potential trades with them. It may be the most devastating development to date, as the team's ability to maneuver toward improvement relies on utilizing every avenue available to them.
Losing the ability to fairly and evenly negotiate trades would put the Bulls at a severe disadvantage, especially when one considers what awaits the franchise beyond Giddey's negotiations.
Chicago has three players with expiring contracts that come out to at least $17.9 million: Zach Collins, Kevin Huerter, and Nikola Vucevic. Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White will also enter unrestricted free agency in 2026. As such, the Bulls will soon need to decide between extensions and potential trades to avoid losing a starting lineup's worth of players for nothing at all.
If Chicago's front office can't repair its reputation soon, it may end up missing out on more than just an ideal Giddey sign-and-trade in 2025 and 2026.