As the calendar nears the end of July, the Chicago Bulls and Josh Giddey have yet to find resolution, although a deal is apparently expected to get done.

This does raise a two questions, that we need to be mindful of.

Have the Bulls learned from prior mistakes?

Last offseason, Chicago negotiated against themselves in regards to Patrick Williams, the 6’8 forward who they took fourth overall in 2020.

The result was a five-year contract worth $90 million, with seemingly no one else involved in the bidding process.

With Giddey, the situation is very much the same. No team has significant amounts of cap space to be considered a threat, and Giddey’s status as a restricted free agent only complicates matters as the Bulls have the right of first refusal to match any offer.

Reportedly, the two sides are $10 million a part – per year.

This means, without a shadow of doubt, that the Bulls hold all the leverage in their handling of Giddey, and they should take full advantage.

While Giddey had a much better second half of the season than first, compiling several triple-doubles, it’s a pattern we’ve seen throughout his career in regards to starting slow, and ramping up as the season moves on.

The Bulls should rightfully be concerned about that, just as they should be concerned about the fact that Giddey’s long-range shooting, sitting at 37.8% for the year, was overwhelmingly a result of being left wide open most of the year.

75% of Giddey’s three-point attempts were considered wide-open by NBA stats, which means a defender was at least six feet away from him on a shot attempt.

This leads us to the second question..

Are the Bulls planning to build around Giddey?

If the recent news in the negotiation cycle is any indication, the Bulls view Giddey as a complementary player, and not the head of the snake, otherwise there’d be no hold-up.

You pay up for guys who essentially are the team. This isn’t one if those situations, and if the Bulls understand that, it’s cause for some level of optimism.

Of course, given the lack of an otherwise franchise player, Bulls management might try to force Giddey into that role regardless, hoping he develops at a ridiculous rate, and thus becomes a bargain contract.

That’s optimistic on two fronts.

The first being the fact that Giddey has shown no such capabilities over the course of last season, or his career. There is literally nothing to suggest he’ll become a player good enough to be the primary option on a playoff team.

The second being future contracts. If, against all odds, Giddey develops into a real franchise player, but he’s compensated in the area of $20-25 million per year, extending that contract will prove overwhelmingly challenging, due to the league’s 140% veteran extension limit.

Of course, that latter part isn’t likely to become particularly relevant. It’s a mere note to have in mind, if Giddey should make an unexpected leap.

All in all, the Bulls are – so far – playing this right, assuming they’re trying to squeeze Giddey in both years and monetary value.

We’ll see where they end up fairly soon.