It’s been a while since the Chicago Bulls had a true superstar. Right now, their best chance for another is Matas Buzelis, but the 20-year-old won’t make that leap on his own. Finding some common ground and re-signing Josh Giddey will be crucial.

Giddey and the Bulls are at a stalemate in contract negotiations. The restricted free agent is reportedly holding out for a new deal worth $30 million annually, while Chicago is offering the 22-year-old closer to $20 million per year. The two sides are expected to reach an agreement at some point this offseason; it would be a shock if Giddey were playing anywhere else next year.

The 6-foot-8 point guard was one of the team’s most important players last season as the engine that made the Bulls’ up-tempo, transition-based offense one of the most effective in the NBA. Giddey had his best campaign as a pro and helped Chicago finish second in the league in pace and sixth in points per game.

While Giddey will still function as the team’s top playmaker, Buzelis will receive more freedom to make things happen on his own this season. But having one of the more creative floor generals in the NBA on the floor with him would make that jump a lot smoother.

Matas Buzelis needs the Chicago Bulls to re-sign Josh Giddey

Buzelis showed superstar upside in flashes as a rookie, but he didn’t make a consistent impact until late in the season when he became a fixture in the starting lineup. The Second-Team All-Rookie selection started the Bulls’ final 31 contests and averaged 13.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 blocks with shooting splits of 47/35/81.

Giddey upped his production later in the season as well. Over that same 31-game span, the Aussie started 23 times and nearly averaged a triple-double, scoring 20.0 points, grabbing 9.7 rebounds and dishing out 8.3 assists a night. It’s no coincidence that Buzelis’ jump in production coincided with Giddey’s. It’s probably not a coincidence that Giddey got better when Buzelis earned more minutes, either.

Among the 18 duos that appeared in at least 40 games and played at least 400 minutes for Chicago last season, the Giddey/Buzelis pairing had the fourth-best net rating. Buzelis was most productive when he shared the floor with his starting point guard, posting his best offensive rating (111.5), net rating (-1.1), and his second-best effective field goal percentage (55.6) and true shooting percentages (58.1), per NBA.com.

The Bulls are aiming to play even faster this season, and handing Buzelis more chances to lead the charge in transition will play a significant part in that. His 6-foot-10 size, explosiveness and high basketball IQ lend themselves to that kind of role if he can improve his ballhandling.

With Giddey on the floor, though, Buzelis will have more playmaking alongside him and more space to operate. As teams scramble to get back on defense, he should have opportunities to act as a secondary playmaker on the break and exploit matchups versus smaller guards or slower bigs.

The former G League Ignite standout is poised to have a breakout campaign, but he’ll need Giddey to play a role in it.