Image Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images

Free-Agency Saga Continues Before Deadline, Chicago Bulls Come Up with an Offer for 6’8” Aussie

Josh Giddey averaged 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game in debut season with the Bulls.

Image Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images

The NBA offseason has been a busy and dramatic affair. Several notable free-agents continuing to remain hard-to-get with their contract negotiations and demands. With a deadline looming on October 1, names such as Jonathan Kuminga, Quentin Grimes, and Josh Giddey continue to remain on the agency market. However, as per reports, Chicago Bull star Giddey is close to accepting a new fresh offer made by the team.

According to reports by ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the Bulls have a four-year, $88 million offer on the table for the 22-year-old. However, the 6’8” Aussie is expecting a deal worth $30 million a year, like many other young stars. This offer would put him in the salary range of players like Derrick White and Tyler Herro. The Australian is one of the best two-way players in the Bulls’ squad. And, at such a young age, Giddey feels that he is yet to put forward his best show.

Coming back to the offer made by the Bulls, it is expected to be the last push that the franchise is ready to make. Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints stated in his recent report, “Although they held firm on their offer of around $20 million per season, the Bulls have recently increased their proposed contract to try and end this stalemate. Chicago has presented Giddey and his representation with a four-year contract in the ballpark of $85 million to $90 million, league sources said.”

He added, “This is likely the last contract proposal the Bulls will offer this offseason, as it’s essentially a compromise from what both sides wanted. Whereas the Bulls entered the summer wanting to keep Giddey on a deal around $20 million per season, he wanted to be paid close to $30 million per year.”

Josh Giddey’s Offer Falls Short of Matching Chicago Bulls’ Deal for Patrick Williams

Josh Giddey, who joined the Bulls in 2024 following a trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder, has had a versatile debut campaign with the side. In the last season, he made a total of 70 appearances. He averaged 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game on an impressive 62.0% true shooting percentage. Even after recording his career-best performance across multiple categories, the Bulls are not willing to pay him what they offered to Patrick Williams.

As per Bobby Marks, “So when you dig around the Josh Giddey situation, who had a terrific year, certainly the last 25 games, he was offered four years, $80 million when free agency started, that number has gone up to four years, $88 million.” He added, “That number is at the bottom of the starting point guards. So, if you’re the Bulls and you just committed five years, $90 million to Patrick Williams based on a lesser body of work, now you’re all of a sudden drawing a line in the sand as far as where you are with Josh Giddey.”

Notably, the Bulls offered Williams a $90 million deal. Note that Williams averaged 9.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game on 39.7% shooting in the past season. He matched or surpassed career-lows across several categories including points, rebounds, and field-goal percentage.

The Bulls finished the previous season with a 39-43 record at the tenth position in the standings. They would want to turn around their performance this season. However for that, they need to consider their approach and put in best effort to retain talented players including Giddey.

Josh Giddey

Garima Ranawat

Garima is a sports writer with around two years of experience in Indian sports and a newfound interest in the NBA. Inspired by the leadership of cricketing legend MS Dhoni, she wishes to bring in newer perspectives to the NBA fanatics with her writing.