The Bulls front office just made a rare shrewd move by signing Josh Giddey to a team-friendly contract, but the lack of smart decisions leading up to it has robbed Chicago of the assets it needs to make the franchise-changing move that would cure its Play-In ills.

Arturas Karnisovas has created a malleable roster that can grow together with 13 players age 25 or younger. Giddey (22 years old), Matas Buzelis (20) and Coby White (25) are at the core of it, at least for now.

White’s status as an unrestricted free agent after this season muddies the waters a bit, but Chicago is set to have the most cap space in the league next summer. Nikola Vucevic, Zach Collins and Kevin Huerter are all on expiring deals that total almost $60 million. Even if White re-ups on a $30 million-per-year contract, the Bulls have enough cash to splash on a big-name star if one becomes available.

But the problem isn’t the money. It’s a poor strategy, a lack of long-term vision and a naivety about the current NBA that will keep the franchise from championship contention.

Bulls front office has dug a hole too big to climb out of

Giddey is Chicago’s point guard of the future; the $100 million confirms it. The fact that a massive paycheck was coming his way was never in doubt after the Bulls gave up one of the best perimeter defenders in the league in Alex Caruso to get him. Spending $25 million a year to keep the Aussie in the Windy City was always logical. Now, Karnisovas can build around Giddey and Buzelis with realistic dreams of a promising future.

Unfortunately, that future isn’t promising enough, and the Bulls lack the tools to fix it. A big three of Giddey, White and Buzelis isn’t good enough to carry a team on a deep playoff run, and gobs of cap space won’t make a difference if free agents don’t want to join an organization that’s been OK with mediocrity. NBA champions aren’t built that way.

Some of the most significant free agent signings of the last half-decade aren’t inspiring. Things haven’t worked out for Paul George and the 76ers. Kawhi Leonard’s decision to join the Clippers was exciting in the moment, but that Los Angeles franchise hasn’t turned the corner (and things are looking bleaker by the day). The New York Knicks’ signing of Jalen Brunson turned out to be a coup, but it wasn’t high-profile nor anything close to a max deal.

NBA contenders are now built via trade

Leonard’s sidekick in LA, James Harden, arrived from Philadelphia by trade. The Minnesota Timberwolves have built a contender with Rudy Gobert in the middle. The Cleveland Cavaliers became Eastern Conference threats after landing Donovan Mitchell. As disgustingly as things worked out, the Phoenix Suns acquired one of the best players in basketball history, Kevin Durant, after making a deal with the Brooklyn Nets.

The list goes on: Tyrese Haliburton helped the Indiana Pacers make the NBA Finals after being traded from Sacramento. Luka Doncic is now with LA’s more successful franchise after the Mavericks made the inexcusable decision to, yes, trade him.

But the Bulls don’t have the assets to make a deal of that magnitude. Karnisovas failed to land a draft pick of any kind from the pick-laden Thunder in the Giddey trade. DeMar DeRozan left later than he could have in a sign-and-trade that netted Chicago just a pair of second-rounders. Zach LaVine’s stock tanked to the point where all Karnisovas got for him, draft-capital-wise, was the Bulls’ own 2025 first-round pick back.

Lonzo Ball was dealt to Cleveland for Isaac Okoro. Nikola Vucevic, the last member of that group of five that led the team to its most recent playoff berth, is still on the roster entering the final year of his contract and about to turn 35 years old. Karnisovas hasn’t moved him for even a pair of second-round selections, and his stock may have peaked. That doesn’t include the whole Patrick Williams debacle.

Re-signing Giddey on a franchise-friendly deal is a major step. Building a young roster with coaching continuity is another important step. But Karnisovas has failed to acquire the kind of assets, whether draft picks or high-upside prospects, that he would need to take a swing big enough to make a real impact.