Josh Giddey’s contract negotiations with the Chicago Bulls have reached a standstill, and according to veteran NBA insider Marc Stein, the 22-year-old guard is growing frustrated with the lack of progress.
In an appearance on CHGO Sports, Stein said Giddey “looks at his draft class, he looks at Jalen Suggs, he looks at Jalen Johnson and thinks, ‘I should be getting the same kind of deal those guys got,’” but added that Giddey “just doesn’t have the external suitor to force the Bulls’ hand.”
Giddey remains unsigned weeks into restricted free agency, with Chicago in no rush to commit to a long-term, high-cost extension.
While Stein acknowledged that restricted free agency is “awful” in the current salary cap environment, he also emphasized the Bulls’ leverage, saying they are “not used to operating from a position of power” and must “get this right because of what they gave up to get Josh Giddey.”
Stein floated the possibility that Giddey could accept his qualifying offer and play out the season in hopes of hitting unrestricted free agency next summer, though he stressed that “it’s easy for us to say on the outside.”
Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report previously noted that Giddey has yet to receive a firm offer near the $30 million annual range his camp expected, in part due to the market being frozen for restricted free agents under the league’s new collective bargaining rules.
Fischer also tied Giddey’s situation to ongoing sign-and-trade scenarios involving Jonathan Kuminga, suggesting that Chicago’s continued interest in the Warriors forward has complicated Giddey’s path to a long-term deal.
Despite the tension, Bulls insiders expressed confidence Giddey wants to be in Chicago long-term.
Stein pointed out that while Giddey hasn’t attended any of the team’s Summer League games in Las Vegas, he was recently spotted in a photo with Bulls teammates, indicating that relationships within the locker room remain intact.
