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Since play resumed on Feb. 20 following the All-Star break, the Chicago Bulls have owned one of the most productive backcourts in the NBA.<\/p>\n
In 15 games during that span, Josh Giddey is averaging 21.3 points, 10.1 rebounds and 8.9 assists with shooting splits of 51\/47\/80. That puts him 27th in the league in scoring, ninth in rebounding and fourth in assists.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Coby White is averaging 26.2 points, 13th best in the league, and won back-to-back Eastern Conference Player of the Week Awards\u2014the only Bull to do it besides Michael Jordan.<\/p>\n
Both are carrying Chicago to a sure-fire postseason berth and, potentially, a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2022. But it won’t come without a price.<\/p>\n
The duo won’t be an issue for Chicago on the court; at least not yet. It’s the monetary and team-building complications that will become issues for the front office sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n
Next season (2025-26), Chicago is projected to be about $53 million under the luxury tax without accounting for a Giddey extension, per Spotrac. Jevon Carter has a $6.8 million player option this summer that he\u2019ll presumably decline in favor of more playing time elsewhere. Tre Jones and Talen Horton-Tucker will both be unrestricted free agents.<\/p>\n
The other significant development to watch this offseason is a potential extension for White. The 24-year-old is owed $12.9 million next year and will be an unrestricted free agent the following summer. Given his late leap and importance to the Bulls as their No. 1 offensive option, he’ll be offered an exceedingly expensive new deal.<\/p>\n
That extension would kick in in 2026-27, which means he and Giddey would make at least $60 million combined that season. The pair would account for more than 25 percent of the salary cap, depending on how much it rises over the next two years.<\/p>\n
Nikola Vucevic, Zach Collins and Kevin Huerter, assuming they\u2019re all still around, would come off the books in the summer of 2026, which would free up about $57 million in space.<\/p>\n
The Bulls would hold a $10 million team option on Lonzo Ball that offseason; Matas Buzelis and Julian Phillips would become extension eligible; and Dalen Terry would be a restricted free agent.<\/p>\n
Before his recent injury, Jones was arguably the most productive reserve guard the Bulls have had all season, but he\u2019s never been more than a depth piece in the NBA. He could be brought back inexpensively but would be more of a luxury than a need.<\/p>\n
After White and Giddey, Ayo Dosunmu\u2014also an unrestricted free agent after next season\u2014becomes Chicago\u2019s biggest priority. The chances he receives a new deal when White and Giddey do are decent, but that would mean another chunk of money allocated to another guard.<\/p>\n
And if that extension doesn\u2019t come to fruition, would he be worth the kind of money to the Bulls that he\u2019d attract on the open market?<\/p>\n
Then decisions need to be made on Huerter, Terry and Ball. Huerter isn\u2019t that far away from the Bulls\u2019 timeline at 26 years old, and like Jones, has become an important piece of the rotation during the team\u2019s most successful stretch of the season.<\/p>\n
Terry has all the physical attributes of a lockdown defender who can guard multiple positions. If he continues to develop over the next few seasons, it would be difficult to let a young player like that walk for nothing.<\/p>\n
At this point, it makes sense for the Bulls to either trade Ball or decline his $10 million team option, considering his age, injury history and what would already be a crowded guard rotation.<\/p>\n
Buzelis and his likely extension would be the next domino to fall. How good will he be two seasons from now? Will he deserve a rookie max deal? That would put the trio of him, Giddey and White each on, or nearly on, max contracts. Three players making that much money would make it a rough job to build out the rest of a competitive roster.<\/p>\n
And speaking of\u2014this scenario doesn\u2019t account for any free agents the Bulls would desire. Two years from now, Chicago will presumably be aiming for deep playoff runs. If that\u2019s the case, veteran free agents would be a necessity, which would make hitting on draft picks even more critical. Adding starters or high-level rotation players on rookie deals would make things much, much simpler.<\/p>\n
The Bulls can\u2019t not<\/em> hand out extensions to Giddey and White given their importance, but it will be costly. Both players have defensive flaws that need covering up. The organization can\u2019t complain about how good the pair has been and how young they are, but both players come with obvious warts.<\/p>\n Which begs the final question: Are they good enough, with Buzelis potentially alongside, to carry a championship contender? Depending on what the Bulls put around them, maybe. But right now, the answer is probably not.<\/p>\n Both members of Chicago’s starting backcourt have taken star turns late this season, but the Bulls will soon run into a financial conundrum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":49172,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n