After a third straight play-in appearance that fell short of a playoff berth, the Bulls face an interesting offseason, as NBA insider Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) previews.
Chicago guard Josh Giddey submitted an encouraging performance during his inaugural season with Chicago, just in time for him to hit restricted free agency this summer. Gozlan notes that a club with cap space, like Brooklyn, could potentially give Giddey an offer sheet, but the Bulls will have the rights to match it. Gozlan projects that Giddey’s play could fetch him a yearly salary in the range of $20-$30MM.
Standout guard Coby White, who will be eligible for a contract extension next season, could earn a significant annual raise if he forgos an extension and instead waits until he reaches unrestricted free agency in 2026.
As Gozlan writes, veterans Nikola Vucevic, Kevin Huerter, Ayo Dosunmu, and Zach Collins are all on expiring deals, and many of those players could be moved in offseason trades rather than extended.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- Cavaliers All-Star guard Darius Garland is expected to be a game-time decision for the first contest of Cleveland’s second round playoff series against Indiana, reports Joe Reedy of The Associated Press. Garland sat out the final two contests of the Cavaliers’ four-game sweep of Miami with a sprained left big toe. “We’re just in this kind of area where you just got to kind of see day-by-day and see how it feels tomorrow morning,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said on Saturday.
- Cavaliers players are doing what they can to prepare for two-time Pacers All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “He always makes the right play and doesn’t really stat hunt,” sixth man Ty Jerome said. “He’s a winner. He takes and makes big shots. He leads that team. He’s a real definition of a point guard.” Six-time All-Star Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, meanwhile, respects Haliburton’s influence on his team’s offense. “He’s the head of the snake,” Mitchell said. “There’s a lot of respect for him and what he brings over there. At the end of the day, if people want to say that, they want to say that, but, you know, we don’t look at it that way. We understand how important he is to that group. He’s a threat, and we’ve got to make sure we try to find ways to neutralize him.”
- The Pistons submitted an impressive bounce-back season in 2024/25 that included their first playoff berth since 2019, writes Omari Sankofa II Detroit Free Press (subscriber link). Now, the club will see four veterans head to unrestricted free agency and also faces extension decisions on young former lottery picks Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren, who will be extension-eligible. Sankofa unpacks the potential fates of these contributors and addresses other burning offseason questions facing Detroit.
Cavaliers better do a lot more preparing. Pacers are a better team. They will move on to face Boston
Bulls management is stupid. This off season could be a fantastic stepping stone to rebuild but these morons will run back the same lot with more than likely the same results. And more years of futility because well, That’s what they are.
First sentence is 100%true, But I don’t think their expiring deals would net much in return, might as well wait til the deadline or just let the deals expire and take the cap space moving forward
That’s where you’re wrong. The Bulls have a giant trade exemption from the DDR and LaVine trades and they have to use them soon. So they would just be able to get draft picks back without adding salary. If they knew what they were doing that is.
However, If I told you I understood anything about the way NBA teams make trades, It would be a big fat lie.
I have posted here, about a week ago ……..
Ty Jerome is a key piece for the CAVS, but he’s a certified ball-hog and his ball-hog ways will cost the CAVS a game/s in the playoffs – I give you Game 1 of this East Semis.
@mike.honcho
Mitchell shot 13-30/1-11 from three with 4 ast and a +/- of -13
Jerome shot 8-20/1-4 with 8 ast and a team best +/- of +10
It appears Mitchell is the ball hog.
There’s a big difference, Mitchell is a certified All Star, all NBA talent.
Ty’s a key piece for this team, but even Stevie Wonder can see that he’s about the most trigger happy bench guy in the league taught now.
I posted earlier that Ty will cost them a game or two come playoffs, and it did.
I disagree – Jerome kept them in the game, as the +/- proves.
More than a few NBA postgame shows are saying the same thing (e.x. Q-Rich) ……. they’d rather have somebody like Mobley, establishing himself, taking the shots rather than Jerome.
It’s not the volume of shots that Ty takes, as long as it’s within the flow of the game …… good for the team when he makes it, but I’ve said it, it might cost them game/s come the playoffs.
Now, I’m predicting one more thing …….. Atkinson and the team takes this to heart, for some strange reason, Ty doesn’t take the same number of shots in game 2.
Even without Garland. You can’t lose to Pacers. This is a bad look.
Yeah, it would be like if the Celtics lost to the Knicks
His Knicks lost to the same Pacers team in last season’s playoffs after they lost their starting PG to injury as well.
@KnickAl
Pacers are much improved. Cavs defense allowed them to shoot 53% overall and they made 19-36 threes.
Garland isn’t known for his defense, so I’m not sure he would have helped.
If the Bulls weren’t inept, they could use their expiring contracts to take on a couple bad deals and picks.
Dame is probably the worst now – don’t know about Embiid yet.
But being a facilitator is partially what landed the Thunder in the position they are in now with all their assets.
Milwaukee doesn’t have any assets to attach to Dame unless you are trying to get a 2030 1st round pick.
Al you should be happy you have a winner in Brunson. Mitchell does not seek to have it.
Brunson and Mitchell have the same flaw. When the game’s on the line they both try to do too much. Mitchell’s has had heroic 40-50 point games where he willed his team to win on multiple occasions. Brunson hit the game winner against the Pistons but they wouldn’t have been in that position if he hadn’t gone 3-13 in the 4th prior to that shot.
too much truth in this short statement!
Bulls eager for that 12th pick.