According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Bulls and Josh Giddey aren’t seeing eye-to-eye contract-wise as the Bulls want to pay him less than what he wants.
Giddey wants to be paid $30 million per year, which is roughly the same contract Jalen Suggs secured with the Orlando Magic.
It’s being reported Chicago is $8 to $10 million apart in negotiations, that has caused a tear between the two sides.
If the 22-year-old were to take the $11 million qualifying offer for the upcoming season, then he would become an unrestricted free agent. This, in turn, would allow teams to have more salary cap to get him at the price he wants.
Plus, organizations wouldn’t have to be hindered to matching rights. A significant difference in how teams would be approaching the rising player.
After the All-Star break, Giddey averaged 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 9.3 assists. This saw him take a leap defensively and offensively to boost the Bulls. He essentially became their number one option in the eyes of many.
“I think from the 50 games at the start of the season, it was two completely different players, and not only talking statistically,’’ Giddey said. ‘‘It was a confidence level, aggression level, effort level. You asked me to sell myself, I’d say the second half of the year is the player who I am. The first half was a completely different guy. Confidence was down, aggression down. Probably was down trying to fit in too much.”
