It’s no secret that the Chicago Bulls and Josh Giddey remain far apart from a contract agreement. The Bulls are reportedly hesitant to offer more than $20 million per season, while Giddey believes he’s worth $30 million, and rightfully so.
The 22-year-old guard took some time to make an impact in the Windy City, but when he did, it was felt. Following Zach LaVine’s departure via trade, Giddey averaged 20.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, 8.1 assists, 1.4 steals, and 2.0 three-pointers per game in 25 appearances. Perhaps most intriguing, he shot 45.1 percent from beyond the arc after struggling as a shooter his entire career.
Nonetheless, despite Giddey’s torrid second-half stretch and his general importance to the Bulls moving forward, there’s a league-wide holding pattern concerning the restricted free agent class.
Restriscted free agent is a complete disaster
Only six restricted free agents came to new agreements with their prior teams this offseason. However, four of the six signed for less than $7 million annually. The other two, Santi Aldama and Davion Mitchell, signed short, three and two-year pacts, respectively.
The rest of the restricted free agent crop, who so happen to be the more accomplished group, remain unsigned. Besides Giddey, Cameron Thomas, Quinten Grimes, and Jonathan Kuminga have yet to reach an agreement with their respective squads.
Thomas has reportedly been offered a mere two-year, $28 million deal, while talk of Grimes is almost non-existent, and Kuminga doesn’t appear keen to return to the Golden State Warriors.
Per ESPN’s Shams Charania, “Jonathan Kuminga is in no rush to sign the latest contract offers from the… Warriors.” Furthermore, “… Kuminga no longer wants to be a secondary option or a fallback plan.”
The Bulls had a clear avenue to acquiring Jonathan Kuminga
If anything, it’s fair to take away that Kuminga prefers to land elsewhere, and that team might have been the Bulls. NBA Insider Jake Fischer reported earlier this month that Kuminga’s camp was hopeful of a sign-and-trade that would send the 22-year-old to Chicago.
Instead of making a move for Kuminga, the Bulls sent Lonzo Ball to the Cleveland Cavaliers to acquire two-way forward Isaac Okoro. This trade came days after the Bulls used the 12th overall pick to nab another forward—France’s Noa Essengue.
With Essengue and Okoro arriving in Chicago, there’s no room for Kuminga. The Bulls already rostered last year’s 11th overall pick, Matas Buzelis, alongside Dalen Terry, Kevin Huerter, Julian Phillips, and Patrick Williams.
Prior to acquiring Okoro, trading for Kuminga utilizing Ball’s $10 million contract would have been doable. Fischer himself stated, “I think that was something [teaming up Giddey and Kuminga in Chicago] that would have been more likely if the Bulls waited and had Lonzo Ball to send back to Golden State… I think that would have been something Golden State would have liked.”
There’s no denying the Warriors’ interest in Ball. Golden State was said to covet the 6-foot-6 floor general this past season, which trickled into the offseason. Yet here we are. Lonzo is on the Cavaliers, and both Kuminga and Giddey remain unsigned.
After it’s all said and done, the Bulls will undoubtedly regret abandoning their pursuit of Kuminga. Sure, it’s ultimately the Warriors’ decision whether to trade the former seventh overall pick. Nonetheless, if Kuminga’s actions and the recent discourse have taught us anything, it’s that the Bulls had a real chance to acquire Kuminga this offseason.
