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Josh Giddey, Chicago Bulls
Josh Giddey‘s restricted free agency continues to hang over the Chicago Bulls. The playmaking guard has spent all summer holding out for a deal in the region of $30 million per year.
According to ClutchPoint’s Brett Seigel, the Bulls, who have been locked in at $20 million per year all summer, have now extended a new contract offer to their star guard. Seigel reports the new offer is in the $85 million to $90 million range. Therefore, it is a fair compromise between the two parties.
“Although they held firm on their offer of around $20 million per season, the Bulls have recently increased their proposed contract to try and end this stalemate,” Siegel reported. “Chicago has presented Giddey and his representation with a four-year contract in the ballpark of $85 million to $90 million, league sources said.”
Seigel continued.
“This is likely the last contract proposal the Bulls will offer this offseason, as it’s essentially a compromise from what both sides wanted. Whereas the Bulls entered the summer wanting to keep Giddey on a deal around $20 million per season, he wanted to be paid close to $30 million per year.”
Assuming the offer is at $90 million over four years, that would see Giddey earning $22.5 million per season. That is only a slight increase from Chicago’s original reported offer of $20 million per season.
Giddey Could Sign His Qualifying Offer
If Giddey isn’t pleased with the Bulls reported new offer, then the only option he has left is to sign his $11.1 million qualifying offer. Making that decision would allow him to hit unrestricted free agency next summer.
However, there has been very little interest in his services this summer. As such, he would be running the risk of turning down good and guaranteed money to bet on himself heading into a contract year.
Chicago clearly wants to keep Giddey around long-term. Therefore, if he did sign his qualifying offer, the Bulls would likely remain in the race to keep him next season. However, they would undoubtedly like to avoid that situation by inking him to a new deal ahead of the new season.
Bulls Still Expected To Reach Deal With Giddey
During a recent edition of ‘The Fast Break,‘ Bulls Insider K.C. Johnson explained why the Bulls are still expected to reach an agreement with Giddey.
“The Bulls traded Alex Caruso to acquire Josh Giddey,” Johnson said. “They liked the way Josh Giddey played basketball for them. They’re just putting a price tag that is indicative of his market on the table. They want Josh Giddey in a Bulls uniform long term. So I still see this reaching a positive conclusion.”
“The Bulls do have a long-term offer on the table… believed to be in the neighborhood of $20 million/year.”
On the latest episode of The Fastbreak, @KCJHoop dives into the Bulls’ contract negotiations with Josh Giddey ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/zQjLZw1c78
https://twitter.com/CHSN_Bulls/status/1957854620400734322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
With training camp and preseason on the horizion, Giddey and the Bulls must reach an agreement, one way or another. Of course, the hope is that he sticks with the Bulls long-term. However, nothing is guaranteed until he puts pen to paper.
No matter what happens, Giddey will be with the Bulls for the upcoming season. Nevertheless, he’s seen as a key part of the overall rebuild. Therefore, seeing him sign his qualifying offer would be a disaster.
Chicago will undoubtedly hope it’s done enough to avoid that scenario. We won’t need to wait too much longer to see whether that’s true.
Adam Taylor is a basketball reporter covering the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns for Heavy. He has also written for CelticsBlog, USA Today, Yardbarker and FanSided. Adam has a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from Open University. More about Adam Taylor
