The Chicago Bulls continue to play hard ball on a contract extension for Australian star guard Josh Giddey, with both player and franchise having intriguing points of leverage in negotiations.
The 22-year-old is reportedly after a five-year deal worth $229m AUD, though reports suggest the Bulls want to sign him for between $191m and $210m.
A week into NBA free agency, a deal has not yet been reached between the two parties, which initially came as a surprise but does makes sense in the context of what else has occurred.
Josh Giddey of the Chicago Bulls celebrates with teammates. Getty
Giddey is a restricted free agent, which means rival teams have the right to offer him a contract and the Bulls then have the ability to match that deal if they wish to keep the player.
However, restricted free agency offers have become less common under the latest NBA collective bargaining agreement, which has made it significantly more challenging for teams to throw cash around, given how brutal its restrictions are for teams with ballooning payrolls.
And Giddey has become the first big victim of that. If no team is going to extend an offer to him, then the Bulls have leverage to play hard ball on the contract number given they aren’t competing against anyone for him this year.
Brooklyn was seen as the most likely team to extend an offer sheet to the Bulls for his services, however they have spent their salary cap space elsewhere.
Fellow restricted free agents Jonathan Kuminga, Cam Thomas and Quentin Grimes have also received nothing on the restricted free agency offersheet front.
ESPN’s Jake Weinbach reported on Wednesday that both the Bulls and Giddey are keen to agree to a five-year deal, though the haggling over the final number continues.
It’s worth remembering in all this that Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf has been slammed over the years as one of the few owners in the league who refuses to pay the luxury tax and go all-out to improve his team.
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons has gone particularly hard at Reinsdorf, recently labelling his franchise the least desirable team in the Eastern Conference next year, largely because of his ownership tendencies.
Giddey enjoyed a breakout season with Chicago after being traded from Oklahoma City, thriving as the team’s lead ball handler and distributor while also improving his consistency from three-point range.
He also emerged as the focal point for the Boomers during the Paris Olympics as the clear leader of the team, three years after missing the roster altogether in Tokyo.
At just 22, Giddey still has enormous upside as a player. It’s worth remembering he’s the same age as players like Charlotte wing Brandon Miller and Houston guard Amen Thompson, who were taken two whole drafts after Giddey was.
While Chicago has its leverage due to the lack of offers coming the guard’s way, Giddey has his own powerplay if he wishes to push the big red button available to him.
This button would allow him to play for the Bulls next season on a one-year deal worth $17m before becoming a full unrestricted free agent, allowing him to sign wherever he wants in 2027.
It would be a gamble on the highest bidder one year on exceeding what Chicago is currently willing to offer him, but given his youth and upside it could certainly pay off.
Giddey has this option available to him because he has already signed his qualifying offer with the Bulls, which locks him in for next season on that one-year $17m deal should the parties not come to terms on an extension this off-season.
Josh Giddey representing the Boomers. Getty
This path puts player and franchise in a stand-off to see who blinks first. If Giddey relents, he will likely accept the five-year extension worth a few million less than he and his team initially wanted.
If the Bulls blink in order to secure their man for the long term, it would mean agreeing to the deal worth $45.6m per season. The two parties could come to an agreement at any point during the season.
Or he could bet on himself and take things through to unrestricted free agency next off-season, playing for the Bulls in 2026 with no long term security, which comes with its own risks – serious injury or development stagnation among them.
Of course, Chicago’s hesitation could indicate that they don’t think Giddey is worth paying as a franchise player. Or, as Bill Simmons would likely guess, they’re once again being overly frugal.
They are not expected to be in the mix in a soft Eastern Conference next season regardless of their decision, something that Giddey himself may consider when deciding whether to play on the qualifying offer and head towards unrestricted free agency in 2027, should his terms not be met.
He is currently back home in Melbourne enjoying his break and with the prospect of generational wealth around the corner, turning that down and betting on himself for one more season would be quite the gamble.
Giddey is expected to surpass Ben Simmons ($310m) as the highest paid Australian NBA athlete ever by the end of his career.
He will be 27 when this hypothetical five-year deal with Chicago finishes, putting him in-line for another massive pay day, assuming everything goes to plan between now and 2030.