Bulls and guard Josh Giddey have time and a will to get the deal done
It’s not supposed to look harmonious.
As a member of the Bulls’ organization recently pointed out in a text, “It’s a negotiation.”
That’s why the Bulls and guard Josh Giddey are in a stalemate in contract-extension talks. The sides have remained active in discussions throughout the offseason. More important, there’s still a lot of time to get a deal done.
Could Giddey play hardball by breaking off talks and telling the organization that he’s simply signing the $11 million qualifying offer, betting on himself, then becoming an unrestricted free agent in the summer of ’26? Sure, but he hasn’t done that.
He wants to get a deal done to stay in Chicago, and the Bulls want him as a foundation piece, especially after helping the Thunder to an NBA title by giving them guard Alex Caruso for Giddey last offseason.
They are somewhere between $8 million to $10 million per year apart.
The Sun-Times reported in the fall that Giddey entered training camp looking for a Jalen Suggs-like extension that would pay him $30 million a season. The Bulls took the prove-it stance.
So what did Giddey really prove?
There were more than just growing pains for Giddey out of the gate; there were benchings. Several to be exact. In a 16-game stretch in November, Giddey found himself sitting in key late-game moments because of his defensive lapses. He also was tripping up offensively, averaging 10.6 points and shooting a dismal 29.1% from three-point range.
So what changed?
The Bulls traded Zach LaVine, leaving a hole that needed to be filled from a leadership standpoint, and the All-Star break allowed Giddey to reset.
After the break, Giddey averaged 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists, shot 45.7% from long range and improved defensively.
“I think from the 50 games at the start of the season, it was two completely different players, and not only talking statistically,’’ Giddey said. ‘‘It was a confidence level, aggression level, effort level. You asked me to sell myself, I’d say the second half of the year is the player who I am. The first half was a completely different guy. Confidence was down, aggression down. Probably was down trying to fit in too much.”
OK, pay the man.
If only it were that easy.
As good as Giddey was in the last 19 regular-season games, there’s still a little matter of his showing in the play-in game against the Heat.
The Thunder gave up on Giddey because they felt they couldn’t count on him on the bigger stage of playoff basketball. The Bulls didn’t get in the postseason, but they did knock on the door with a chance against the Heat.
Guard Tyler Herro took Giddey and Coby White apart in the first quarter, and the visiting Heat outscored the Bulls 39-28 and never looked back. Giddey had 25 points and 10 rebounds but shot 9-for-21 from the field in a stat line filled with a lot of empty calories.
That sticks.
Bulls executive vice president Arturas Karnisovas made the mistake of gift-wrapping a five-year, $90 million contract to restricted free agent Patrick Williams last summer without testing the market, but he learned his lesson. This has been made easier by the fact that there’s no market for restricted free agents this offseason because of the cap and fear of the penalties for crossing into the first and second aprons.
Still, the feeling is there’s a willingness by both sides to find a number that works. When and at what price? That’s where it remains murky. But, again, “it’s a negotiation.”
NOTE: Bulls and coach Billy Donovan made his contract extension official on Sunday, but the Sun-Times reported back in June that the two sides agreed on the deal then.