The Chicago Bulls have a restricted free agent who will consume significant resources this summer, both financially and in terms of personnel. The organization needs to decide whether it wants to retain point guard Josh Giddey, who had a career year in his age-22 season. If the answer is yes, the next question is how much of a commitment it wants to make.
But there are also wider roster building issues that need to be addressed.
The Bulls are in desperate need of a rim protector, preferably an athletic one who can roll to the rim and/or keep up with their transition-centric offense. They also need on-ball defenders, preferably on the wing, who can compensate for a defensively deficient backcourt in Coby White and Giddey if he returns.
There’s a player who most around the league feel is gettable this offseason who could help address the latter need, and now another report is seemingly pulling the Bulls closer to a deal if they choose to go that route.
Latest news takes another team out of the Jonathan Kuminga running
The Golden State Warriors have their own Giddey-like conundrum with Jonathan Kuminga. The forward, also 22, is an unrestricted free agent who can sign an offer sheet with another franchise, forcing the Warriors into a decision: match that offer and retain Kuminga, or refuse and let him walk.
The Brooklyn Nets are the only team in the league that can realistically hand Kuminga the kind of contract he desires (reportedly a five-year, max extension). But according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, the Nets aren’t in the offer sheet business for Kuminga:
“There is not a current expectation that the Brooklyn Nets are preparing an offer sheet for Kuminga, but there are signs Brooklyn could be willing to use its open cap space as a vehicle to execute multi-team trade scenarios this summer, league sources said.”
The chances that the Bulls re-sign Giddey and try to sign Kuminga are near zero. Rumors are beginning to swirl that Chicago is intrigued by BYU point guard Egor Demin in the draft, however. Demin is a 6-foot-9 point guard with high-level vision and passing skills, but he struggles defensively and with his outside shooting. Essentially, the 19-year-old is a Giddey clone.
If Chicago goes that route with its lottery pick, it would likely conclude Giddey’s time in the Windy City. In that scenario, extending an offer sheet to Kuminga could be a sensible move.
If Kuminga exits stage left, the Warriors would prefer to execute a sign-and-trade, which would necessitate the Bulls sending something back to Golden State, which has previously shown interest in Nikola Vucevic. Kevin Huerter and Zach Collins are also on expiring contracts, which could be desirable for a team already paying Jimmy Butler, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green max money.
There haven’t been any concrete reports linking the Bulls to Kuminga, but his size, strength and explosiveness on the wing are arguably a better fit for Chicago’s roster than Giddey. The fact that the Nets, the lone team with enough cap space to outright offer Kuminga a new deal, aren’t interested adds another layer of intrigue to a potential move for the Bulls.
