After more than two months of negotiations, the Chicago Bulls and Josh Giddey have found common ground on a new contract worth $100 million over four years.
The Bulls, who wanted Giddey back at a price point of $20 million per year, were up against Giddey’s demands of $30 million per year.
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Now, after two and a half months, the two sides split the difference, which begs the question: Why the delay, since they ended up with the most obvious solution anyway?
Slam dunk for Giddey
One hundred million dollars for Giddey is a lot of money for someone who isn’t particularly efficient, who isn’t a natural shooter, and who is an outright poor defender.
Many people will point to his raw output (14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists) and argue his all-around statistical line is worth the contract. It’s an understandable position to take. Players approaching a triple-double average affect the game in many different ways, that’s certainly a fair argument to make in regards to Giddey.
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That said, Giddey’s lack of ability to play off the ball is what makes this deal difficult to evaluate just off of raw stats. The Bulls have to essentially structure their offense around him, and tailor their spacing to when he’s on the court, culminating in the unavoidable fact that they’re building their team around him.
Is there another layer to Giddey’s game? You’d hope so, given that he’s only 22. But from what we’ve seen in four seasons so far, Giddey isn’t of such quality that Chicago, or any other team, can justify building a team around him. The Oklahoma City Thunder dramatically improved their floor-spacing, and collective defense, by simply getting him off the roster (replacing him with Alex Caruso didn’t hurt).
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Fortunately for Chicago, in today’s NBA, $25 million isn’t franchise-leader money. So from a financial perspective, the Bulls could be worse off in that sense.
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But just because they didn’t hand him $30 million a year doesn’t remove the on-court obstacles that are clearly present.
What’s the plan in Chicago?
The Giddey contract isn’t the main issue here. If anything, it’s yet another symptom of Chicago’s complete lack of a comprehensive plan.
Where do the Bulls go from here with Giddey occupying the ball and dictating the offense?
Chicago can’t extend Coby White, who is earning too little for it to make sense for him. It’s entering the season with Nikola Vučević still on the roster, after years of trade rumors. Patrick Williams is still on the roster, too, soaking up $18 million per year for scoring nine points per game.
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It all points to another round of severe mediocrity, a maybe-maybe-not plan toward the play-in tournament, and an uninspiring approach to roster construction. This is a team that doesn’t value draft picks, has no desire to build through the draft, and isn’t willing to spend the necessary money to go all-in.
The organization’s self-imposed limitations, which carry over year after year, are only further underlined by this new Giddey contract, as it will lead to more of the same, bringing nothing new to the table.
So, congratulations to the Bulls and Giddey for getting this deal done. It changes absolutely nothing.
