The Chicago Bulls seem to have learned their lesson after the disaster that was the Patrick Williams extension, but the Josh Giddey situation isn’t the time to do a complete 180.

Vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnišovas handed Williams, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, a five-year, $90 million contract last offseason. Williams’ deal to remain in the Windy City was one of the first moves announced when free agency kicked off.

The Bulls had until October to agree with Williams on an extension.

Then 22 years old and coming off a season in which he only played 43 games and averaged just 10.0 points and 3.9 rebounds, the idea of giving Williams $90 million before Karnišovas got a chance to gauge his market will go down as one of the most questionable (at best) decisions he’s made during his time at the helm in Chicago.

The move looks even worse a year later. Williams scored 9.0 ppg in 2024-25 and was eventually relegated to a bench role once rookie Matas Buzelis replaced him in the starting lineup.

Based on the still-ongoing negotiations between the Bulls and Giddey — which have already lasted more than two months longer than those between the team and Williams — Karnišovas appears to have learned from his mistake. That’s a good thing.

What’s not so good is that Chicago actually needs Giddey. It didn’t need to keep hold of a draft bust like Williams.

Bulls are picking the wrong time to be stubborn in restricted free agency

Dating back to last summer, when Chicago acquired him from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Alex Caruso, Giddey and his camp were looking for a contract extension worth $30 million per season. The Bulls declined and instead let the then-21-year-old play out the final year of his rookie deal.

After a so-so start to the year, the 6-foot-8 point guard from Down Under became the driver of head coach Billy Donovan’s revamped offense centered around pace, 3-point shooting and transition opportunities.

After the all-star break, Giddey averaged 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists, leading the second-best offense in the league over that time and guiding a group that won 17 of its final 27 regular-season games. He went from being a 31.0 percent 3-point shooter over his first three seasons to hitting 37.8 percent of his triples last year. He proved himself to be a crucial piece of the Bulls’ future.

Giddey is still holding out for that $30 million per year extension. Chicago is staying strong with an offer worth $20 million annually. The team offered their starting floor general a four-year, $80 million deal, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer via The Stein Line substack.

It’s great that Karnišovas isn’t repeating last summer’s Williams error. It bodes well for a front office that needs to change. And with every bit of leverage in negotiations, the Bulls shouldn’t cave to Giddey’s $30 million demands. But at some point, it’s time to stop being inflexible and find a middle ground.

Williams isn’t essential to Chicago. Giddey absolutely is.