Bulls RFA Josh Giddey's Value Debated by NBA Execs amid Contract Rumors in Free Agency
While Chicago Bulls restricted free agent Josh Giddey continues to wait for a new contract, a majority of NBA executives polled by The Athletic's Fred Katz and Joel Lorenzi believe he should be headed for a healthy payday.
"Fourteen of the 16 participants proposed an average annual salary between $20 million and $25 million. (His mean average yearly value in the poll came to $22.3 million a year.)," the report said. "One executive pinned him as an $18 million player. Another, a front-office staffer who admitted he would be far lower than the consensus because he wasn't a fan of Giddey's game, suggested $50 million over four years, $12.5 million a year — less than the midlevel exception for a player who put up 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists in 2024-25 and who averaged nearly a 20-point triple-double over his final 19 games."
Giddey is getting squeezed thanks to a few different factors.
For one, the 22-year-old has yet to fully turn the corner and become an All-Star talent.
Last season, he continued to average healthy numbers across the board, while his 37.8 percent clip on three-pointers was a career high.
Still, the fact that Chicago missed the playoffs made it impossible to know whether he has dramatically improved from the player deemed to be expendable by the Oklahoma City Thunder when they wanted to chase a championship.
Giddey's restricted free agency isn't helping matters. Any team interested in the Australian knows the Bulls can match whatever offer sheet he signs.
That made for a bad combination when paired with the general lack of salary cap space around the NBA as the offseason kicked into gear. It's not a coincidence that fellow RFAs Jonathan Kuminga, Quentin Grimes and Cam Thomas are experiencing the same problem.
Katz and Lorenzi spoke with one executive who believes a four-year deal worth around $100 million is a reasonable investment in Giddey.
"Giddey is the anomaly because he might be good enough to be a four-year player,” the exec said. "Nobody wants to go with long-term contracts because everybody wants this idea of flexibility. You wanna have the ability to (say), 'You know what? My team's not very good. Let's pivot.'"
Giddey also maintains a little bit of leverage on Chicago. The Bulls don't have a lot of long-term building blocks on the roster, and letting him walk would mean having nothing to show from trading away Alex Caruso last summer.
It's tough to envision Chicago or anybody else getting to his reported asking price of $30 million at this stage. Securing a contract that averages at $20 million would be a nice piece of business in such a tough market.
