There are more options for restricted free agent Josh Giddey and the Chicago Bulls than agreeing to a massive long-term deal or settling for an $11.1 million qualifying offer. There are shorter contracts to be signed and player or team options to consider.
There’s plenty of gray area here that needs to be explored.
Most of the discourse involving the Bulls and their franchise point guard centers around the chasm between what Giddey wants and what Chicago is offering. The 22-year-old, fresh off a breakout season, is aiming for a long-term deal in the range of $30 million per year. The Bulls, on the other hand, have something closer to $20 million a season in mind.
Both parties are expected to eventually reach an agreement. They need each other. So a compromise for $25 million per season makes logical sense, right? If it were that simple, a deal would already be done.
But there are other ways for the player and organization to find common ground.
Bulls, Josh Giddey must consider player, team options or a shorter deal
Giddey reportedly desired a five-year, $150 million extension before last season. He then proceeded to average 14.6 points along with 8.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists, both career highs. A career 31.0 percent three-point shooter over his first three NBA seasons, he hit 37.8 percent of his triples last year on a career-high 4.0 attempts a night.
After the all-star break, Giddey averaged 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists while shooting 50 percent from the field and 46 percent from deep. It’s fair to say he earned himself a lucrative new contract.
The market for restricted free agents is barren this summer, however, which means Giddey — along with Jonathan Kuminga, Quentin Grimes and Cam Thomas — won’t be getting what he wants. The Bulls hold all the leverage with no other offers landing on Giddey’s table. Hence, the delay in a deal that both sides want to get done.
But there are fairly uncomplicated alternatives that are being either underdiscussed or completely ignored.
Maybe the Bulls don’t want to give Giddey $30 million a year over five years. What about $30 million per year over three years with a team option on a fourth? That would give Giddey the financial security he wants while protecting Chicago from being saddled with another albatross deal if things don’t go as planned; simply decline the option on the fourth year, and it becomes a seemingly palatable three-year, $90 million contract.
On the flip side, if the Bulls won’t give Giddey that $30 million, maybe a $22-25 million salary over three years would work with a fourth-year player option. Giddey would be protected in that scenario — if he outplays what would essentially be a three-year, $75 million contract, he can return to the open market with a bigger payday in mind at just 25 years old.
An extension is expected to get done, one way or another, and there are compromises to be found if Giddey’s agents and Chicago’s front office each make a concession or two.
