Giddey Extension (Draft)
After last season’s playoff debacle, Josh Giddey saw a significant drop in his value when it came to his future contract negotiations. So much so to the point that he was traded away this offseason with just this upcoming year left on his rookie deal. Instead of the Thunder, it will now be the Bulls taking on the responsibility of determining the Aussie’s value with just an 82 game sample size to figure out how he fits in with the team’s future plans (sorry, Chicago fans, but I wouldn’t be banking on any playoff, play-in, or even In-Season Tournament Final games this season).
During the first series of postseason action against New Orleans, Giddey was a mainstay in the Thunder’s rotation. Yet by the second round, Mark Daigneault had seemed to almost completely phase him out of the gameplan. Giddey went from playing 26-30 minutes a night down to no more than 15 a game once the Dallas series began. There seemed to be a disconnect on each end; Giddey desired a more pivotal role within the offense, looking to maximize his own potential and blossom into a legitimate shot creating point forward worthy of perhaps a near-max extension, while the organization was busy wrestling with the idea of how to turn his skillset into a useful contributor within their system. Unable to come to terms with a plan for his future with the team, OKC shipped him out in exchange for All-Defensive guard Alex Caruso.
While this trade was one of many transactions for OKC that bolsters their case as West favorites, it was also one of many that set a clear direction for the Chicago Bulls moving forward: full-on rebuild. The departure of Caruso alongside Demar Derozan is a clear sign that this upcoming season for the Bulls will be one of trial and error from start to finish. Rather than being the square peg shoved into the round hole as the 4th option in OKC, Giddey will have the opportunity to be a lead ballhandler and play a style that caters to his strengths. While the roster may not be loaded with sharpshooters to spread the floor or a strong lob threat to run with him in transition (looking at you, Nikola Vucevic), the Bulls are still best suited to put the ball in Giddey’s hands and let him go to work. The pairing with Coby White in the backcourt should be a natural fit from day one, and if Lonzo Ball does indeed return to play this season, he can only be additive to what Giddey wants to do on the court. Toss in a Rookie of the Year candidate in Matas Buzelis plus Patrick Williams coming back from injury, and all of a sudden the Bulls have a team fans can get excited about (you deserve a mention too, Ayo).
Questions will surround this team all season, no doubt. [When] does Zach Lavine get traded? Is there enough spacing around Josh Giddey? What does Nikola Vucevic do, exactly? Yet there’s still a much bigger question looming for this Chicago Bulls front office:
What type of contract extension do you offer Josh Giddey next summer?
That type of question can only be answered once we’ve seen his 2024-25 season play out, but the deal that Arturas Karnisovas ultimately decides to give him will have ripple effects on the future of the organization. With the right contract, Josh Giddey can be a foundational piece for the next iteration of this team. Just as easily, if he never lives up to the expectations set for him by the nature of the contract he signs, the Bulls could be destined to remain stuck in the cycle of NBA purgatory, never finding a way to break out from the middle of the pack in the league standings.
