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Ahead of training camp, Bleacher Report summed up every NBA team\u2019s offseason with a single word. For the Atlanta Hawks, it chose \u201cdisbelief,\u201d highlighting their draft-day trade and the additions of Kristaps Porzingis and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.<\/p>\n
For the team on the other end of Atlanta\u2019s draft-day heist, the New Orleans Pelicans, Bleacher Report chose \u201claughingstock\u201d\u2014easily the harshest label of all 30 teams. But the Chicago Bulls didn\u2019t escape criticism either, earning the word \u201ccaved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant Hughes, who penned the article, wrote, “Josh Giddey’s four-year, $100 million contract isn’t the “everybody’s happy” compromise it appears to be. The Bulls had all the power in negotiations with their restricted free agent, status granted them by the total lack of outside suitors and the league-wide dearth of cap space that made an offer sheet from another team almost impossible\u2026 Chicago could have pushed him harder, daring him to take his $11.4 million qualifying offer. Instead, the Bulls caved.”<\/p>\n
This comes just a week after The Athletic\u2019s John Hollinger ranked Giddey\u2019s deal among the five most underrated moves of the offseason, not just signings, but moves. Hollinger praised the Bulls\u2019 decision, noting that in today\u2019s market, $25 million per year isn\u2019t all that exorbitant.<\/p>\n
Hollinger even offered a striking comparison: “Giddey\u2019s deal would make him the sixth-highest paid player on the 2026-27 Cleveland Cavaliers or the fifth-highest paid on this year\u2019s Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, New York Knicks or Minnesota Timberwolves.”<\/p>\n
Sandwiched between The Athletic\u2019s praise and Bleacher Report\u2019s criticism, Giddey got the harshest judgment from ESPN: he missed their top-100 list entirely. Even more baffling, Mitchell Robinson, Zach Edey, Jonathan Kuminga, and No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, who hasn\u2019t played a single NBA game, ranked ahead of him.<\/p>\n
ESPN snubbing Giddey was already outrageous. Then Bleacher Report piled on, suggesting the 6-foot-8 floor general didn\u2019t deserve the $100 million Chicago handed him, even after an All-Star-caliber finish to last season.<\/p>\n
In just a few months, Giddey has become arguably the most polarizing player in the NBA, particularly during the leaguewide restricted free-agent standoff that put all eyes on him. He was the only restricted free agent to sign a long-term deal, while Brooklyn Nets’ Cam Thomas opted for his one-year, $5.9 million qualifying offer.<\/p>\n
Pundits can\u2019t agree on Giddey: Was his $100 million contract well-deserved, or an overpay for a player who\u2019s never made an All-Star game and only exceeded expectations after last season\u2019s All-Star break as a former sixth overall pick?<\/p>\n
Opinions vary, but Giddey\u2019s contract hardly qualifies as a gross overpay. At just 22, he brings a versatile skill set rare in the league \u2014 and he\u2019ll earn less than Immanuel Quickley, Dejounte Murray, and Jordan Poole, for crying out loud. You can\u2019t deny a player who’s counting stats last season rivaled only Nikola Joki\u0107 and Luka Don\u010di\u0107.<\/p>\n Bleacher Report called the Chicago Bulls \u201ccaved\u201d in their negotiations with restricted free agent Josh Giddey\u2014a damning choice of words.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":103922,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n