Polarizing Bulls Starter Eyeing Massive Payday: Insider Report

Getty Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations Arturas Karnisovas of the Chicago Bulls.

The Chicago Bulls enter the 2024-25 regular season with plenty of unknowns surrounding their ball club.

Players like Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic are trade candidates. Lonzo Ball’s return from a two-year injury absence serves as an encouraging backdrop amid dour projections for the team this season.

However, one of their more pressing matters is Josh Giddey’s contract.

The Bulls have until 6 pm ET on October 21 to sign Giddey to an extension or the two slides will have to wait until after the season. Giddey will be a restricted free agent next summer.

“Josh Giddey is said to be seeking at least $30 million in AAV in his next deal, sources said,” “The People’s Insider” show’s Jake Fischer posted on Threads on October 19. “Although the Bulls appear more keen on evaluating Giddey through this first season in Chicago before committing that type of money to the Australian playmaker.”

Giddey could net $150 million over five years on the low end of his rumored expectation.

That would make him the second-highest-paid player in Bulls history behind LaVine and ahead of Derrick Rose and Michael Jordan. It would be a far more tenable number for the Bulls if they can trade LaVine or Vucevic by the deadline (February 6), or if they can wait until the offseason.

Ball will be an unrestricted free agent then, removing his $20 million annual salary. The Bulls are $6.6 million below the luxury tax threshold as of October 19, per Spotrac.

There remains work to be done before the two sides can agree on a final number.

Josh Giddey Bulls ‘Biggest Piece of Business’

“Biggest piece of business left is extension/no extension for Josh Giddey by Monday’s deadline,” Chicago Sports Network’s K.C. Johnson posted on X on October 19. “Gap remains in talks, per source, and Bulls’ recent history has been to let season play out to help set valuation. (i.e. Coby White, Patrick Williams).”

White signed a three-year, $36 million contract on the eve of free agency in June 2023.

Williams signed a five-year, $90 million deal one year later. Giddey’s draft slot – No. 6 overall in 2021 – is in between Williams (No. 4 in 2020) and White (No. 7 in 2019). But he has been a more consistently productive player than either of his new teammates.

ESPN’s Shams Charania speculated that the Bulls would try to hold talks with Giddey before Monday’s deadline.

“He’s someone that I think the Bulls will engage with,” Charania told Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne on “The Hoop Collective” on October 15. “They made that trade, traded away Alex Caruso for him. So they clearly value him to an extent. But what does he want? What is his mentality on the marketplace? And what do they want to give? That is the push and pull that we’re going to see between now and Monday, and you’re going to see the more serious conversations happen close to the weekend as we go into Monday.”

Josh Giddey Shows Progress in Key Areas During Preseason

Giddey joins the Bulls having earned a reputation as a poor defender. His deficiency cost him playing time with the Oklahoma City Thunder and is something the 6-foot-8 guard has said he set out to improve upon.

He remained a work in progress on that end during the preseason. But he did show encouraging signs in two other notable areas.

Giddey averaged 4.0 three-point attempts and 1.8 turnovers per game in four outings.

Both numbers are below his 2023-24 averages in the same categories. Assuming the deadline comes and goes without a deal for Giddey, carrying that improvement over from the preseason to the regular season is key as he seeks his lucrative payday.