Josh Giddey took a major leap this season for the Chicago Bulls. During his first three years in the league with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the 22-year-old averaged a combined 13.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists. He struggled to stay on the floor late in games, not only because of his poor defense, but because of his wild inaccuracy as a shooter.

He shot just 46.4 percent from the field in OKC and only 31.0 percent from three.

Things continued on the same trajectory for the first half of last season with the Bulls, but somewhere, somehow, things flipped for the Aussie around the All-Star break.

From Jan. 20 to Feb. 12, Giddey averaged 15.3 points and shot 48.9 percent from the field and 41.1 percent from three. In his final 19 games, he nearly averaged a triple-double with 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists while shooting 45.7 percent from three.

Whether fortunately or unfortunately for Chicago, Giddey’s career year came as he enters restricted free agency. He could end up costing the Bulls $30 million or more per season if they want to keep him in The Windy City.

His chances of sticking around are high, but if, for whatever reason, the organization decides he becomes too costly, there’s a near like-for-like substitute waiting in this summer’s draft.

BYU’s Egor Demin could become Bulls’ Josh Giddey replacement

Egor Demin was the floor leader and one of the key players on a strong Cougars team in 2024-25. He started every game as a freshman and averaged 10.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.1 steals.

Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor has Demin ranked as the 15th best prospect in this year’s class. His summary of the 19-year-old might sound familiar to Bulls fans:

“Demin has a rare ability at his size to make dazzling passes. But he’s also struggled to shoot and create his own shot against lengthy defenders, making him more of a love-him or hate-him prospect than a sure thing.”

Add in the Russians’ 6-foot-9, 190-pound size, and it’s easy to see why Giddey is a common comparison among draft experts. Demin is more of a facilitator than a scorer, and he averaged nearly two assists to every turnover at BYU. Unfortunately, like Giddey until recently, Demin is a poor shooter from three-point range. He shot 27.3 percent on 4.7 attempts per game.

So why would Chicago let a young, growing, four-year pro like Giddey walk in favor of an unproven 19-year-old? Because he would come at a much, much cheaper price, fill a similar role and would allow more roster flexibility for Chicago’s front office as it rebuilds over the next few seasons.

It’s an unlikely scenario, but it wouldn’t be the worst path to take for the Bulls’ long-term future.