Bulls Rumors

Bulls Offered Giddey $80MM Deal At Start Of Free Agency

The Bulls made guard Josh Giddey a four-year contract offer worth $80MM when free agency began on June 30, league sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).

Multiple reports dating back to last October have indicated that Giddey’s asking price is in the range of $30MM per year, so Chicago’s offer fell well short of that benchmark.

While the two sides have had nearly a month-and-a-half since free agency opened to try to bridge the gap, the Bulls have been “anchored” in the neighborhood of $20MM annually since making that initial offer, Fischer writes.

As a restricted free agent, Giddey can’t sign outright with another team, but he has drawn sign-and-trade interest from a handful of Eastern Conference teams, according to Fischer, who reiterates that the Warriors also have genuine interest in the 22-year-old, as he previously reported.

However, Fischer acknowledges that there doesn’t appear to be a “feasible pathway” to a trade that gets Giddey to Golden State, and the other teams with interest in the former sixth overall pick also haven’t made any headway. The Bulls have “messaged for some time” that they’re not looking to seriously engage in sign-and-trade discussions about Giddey, says Fischer.

Giddey got off to a slow start in his first season as a Bull after being acquired from Oklahoma City in exchange for Alex Caruso, but finished strong, particularly after the team traded Zach LaVine to Sacramento. Between the start of February and the end of the regular season, Giddey averaged 20.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 8.1 assists per game with a shooting line of .491/.451/.801 across 25 outings.

As we noted last week when we outlined the key dates and deadlines for restricted free agents, there are no deadlines on tap in August or September. RFAs have until October 1 to decide whether or not to accept their one-year qualifying offers (Giddey’s is worth $11.1MM), though that deadline can be pushed back if the team and player work out an agreement.

While it’s rare for so many top restricted free agents to remain unsigned this late in the offseason, it’s not uncommon for one or two RFA standoffs to extend well into the summer. A year ago, Isaac Okoro eventually re-signed with the Cavaliers on September 17; two years ago, P.J. Washington re-signed with the Hornets on August 29; three years ago, Collin Sexton and Jordan Nwora didn’t resolve their restricted free agencies until September.

Look Ahead At Potential 2026 Free Agents

Free agency is not the headline event it once was in the NBA, as a large portion of the top players on the market tend to extend, like Luka Doncic did last weekend with the Lakers, or move in trades rather than signing with new teams. However, there are still likely to be talented players available and ready to contribute to new situations, as Zach Harper details for The Athletic.

Teams like the Lakers, Clippers, and Heat have made an effort to keep their flexibility for next year, write Tim Bontemps and Kevin Pelton for ESPN. However, those teams are also expected to try to maintain cap space for 2027, a summer in which multiple MVPs – Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic – could potentially reach the market, though of course neither is guaranteed to be available.

The Celtics will also likely look to retool their roster next summer after trading away key contributors in Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis for salary cap relief, as they seek to rebuild their roster into a contender around Tatum once he has recovered from his Achilles tear.

Trae Young, with a $48.9MM player option for the 2026/27 season, has the potential to be one of the top names on the board, and while Harper expresses confidence that an extension with the Hawks will get done, there have been rumors that it’s far from a certainty, and that next season could serve as an evaluation period for the Hawks’ core under a new head of basketball operations.

Other high-end veterans with player options for ’26/27 include James Harden (Clippers), Zach LaVine (Kings), Draymond Green (Warriors), Austin Reaves (Lakers), Andrew Wiggins (Heat), Fred VanVleet (Rockets), and Bradley Beal (Clippers). Harper considers Harden, Green, and Reaves very likely to remain with their current teams, and VanVleet also relatively likely to stay, though the Rockets have some level of flexibility in regard to the future of their roster.

Then there are the unrestricted free agents. As of this moment, LeBron James (Lakers) and Kevin Durant (Rockets) represent the cream of the crop, but there are other talented players such as Porzingis (Hawks), Anfernee Simons (Celtics), Coby White (Bulls), and others who are sure to garner suitors.

For what it’s worth, Durant has been widely expected to extend with Houston, but James is ineligible to be extended prior to free agency and White’s salary is so modest relative to his value that he’s considered likely to wait until he can get a bigger payday on the free agent market.

One interesting inflection point will be players on team options, such as Isaiah Hartenstein and Luguentz Dort on the Thunder, and Bogdan Bogdanovic and Brook Lopez on the Clippers. The Thunder, particularly, could have some tough decisions to make on their role players soon as lucrative extensions take effect for stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams.

Warriors Have Interest In Sign-And-Trade For Josh Giddey

In a recent live stream for Bleacher Report (video link), Jake Fischer discussed the current stalemate surrounding both the Bulls with Josh Giddey and the Warriors with Jonathan Kuminga, neither of which he expects to come to an end anytime soon. During that stream, Fischer reported that there is interest, at least from the Warriors’ end, in a double sign-and-trade that could solve both problems simultaneously.

I can report that there have been multiple teams that have reached out to Josh Giddey’s representation about having interest in [him],” Fischer said. “Golden State is one of them. Golden State would be interested, depending on how the machinations would go, in some kind of Josh Giddey-Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade, to my understanding.”

Of course, a sign-and-trade needs both sides to be interested, and Fischer notes that doesn’t appear to be the case at the moment. “The Bulls have been telling teams… that they don’t want to talk sign-and-trade,” he said.

According to Fischer, Chicago does have a longstanding interest in Kuminga, though it’s unclear to what extent. While the Bulls haven’t made an “aggressive pursuit” of Kuminga to this point, they remain on the periphery of the situation.

They made outreach to Golden State early in the offseason about Kuminga, they’ve talked about Kuminga in various trade conversations with the Warriors in the past when Golden State was checking in on Zach LaVine and Alex Caruso and other things,” Fischer says.

A double sign-and-trade is a difficult maneuver to pull off, as the rules regarding base year compensation mean that the salaries going out would only count for 50% of their annual average value to the team trading them, but would count fully for the team receiving the player. Since that would apply to both the Bulls and Warriors in such a deal, any double sign-and-trade would almost certainly necessitate at least one more team getting involved.

The Warriors were prepared to draft Giddey in 2021 if Kuminga were selected ahead of their No. 7 pick, per Fischer, and they’ve since maintained their interest in the 6’8″ guard. Fischer also notes that the Warriors have attempted to negotiate with this Bulls regime before, citing the 2023 deadline, when the Warriors reportedly made multiple first-round picks available in a potential deal for Caruso.

He adds that rival teams feel that the Bulls are not generally forthcoming in trade negotiations, at times to the point of inscrutability.

Other teams don’t want to talk that business with Chicago, and they know Chicago doesn’t really want to make sign-and-trade scenarios come to fruition for Josh Giddey after turning Caruso into Giddey directly with no other draft capital coming back,” Fischer said.

Even if the Warriors and Bulls don’t make any sort of deal this offseason, that may not close the door on the idea of Kuminga eventually ending up in Chicago, Fischer adds: “There still is some hope from Kuminga’s side that the Bulls could factor into his situation right now, and there is also some hope to my understanding from Kuminga’s side that if he were to take the qualifying offer and reach unrestricted free agency next year, the Bulls… are going to be major players with cap space.”

Fischer’s Latest: RFAs, Warriors, White, Young, Celtics

During Thursday’s Bleacher Report live stream (YouTube link), NBA insider Jake Fischer reiterated multiple times that he expects the four primary restricted free agents — Jonathan Kuminga (Warriors), Josh Giddey (Bulls), Quentin Grimes (Sixers) and Cam Thomas (Nets) — to continue to be in contract standoffs with their respective teams for some time.

Again, we are still in a holding pattern with all these restricted free agents, and we are — at this juncture — expecting all those situations to linger deeper into August and get into September as well,” Fischer said. “Don’t expect a resolution for Jonathan Kuminga, for Josh Giddey, for Quentin Grimes, for Cam Thomas, anytime soon.”

According to Fischer, the Warriors haven’t shown any interest in what the Kings and Suns have offered in sign-and-trade scenarios for Kuminga. But they also don’t want to lose the former lottery pick for nothing in return.

Jonathan Kuminga’s side, I believe, right now, would be willing to take a two-plus-one with a player option three-year deal,” Fischer said. “I think that Jonathan Kuminga’s side would take this one-plus-one situation with Golden State — this two-year, $45MM offer that’s been on the table — if he were to get a player option in year two.

But I was told yesterday from various sources that Golden State is going to be holding firm … that second year is going to be a team option. And that’s kinda where this staring contest is at.

Here’s more from Fischer:

  • The Warriors currently have only nine players signed to standard contracts, with the Kuminga stalemate continuing to hold up their other offseason business. Fischer suggested that Al Horford, De’Anthony Melton, and Gary Payton II are likely to be signed after Kuminga’s situation is resolved. Malcolm Brogdon and Seth Curry remain on Golden State’s radar as well, according to Fischer, with Javonte Green another player mentioned.
  • The Bulls are monitoring Coby White‘s upcoming free agency, Fischer said. White will be an unrestricted free agent in 2026, and Fischer noted that there has been talk of White wanting a contract that exceeds $30MM annually. That expectation may be factoring into the calculation of Chicago playing a level of hardball with Giddey’s restricted free agency.
  • Thomas looks the most likely of the four RFAs to accept his qualifying offer, Fischer confirmed. The high-scoring guard views himself as a $30MM+ per year player, but the Nets haven’t approached that figure and have only offered him short-term deals to this point, Fischer said.
  • While Fischer confirmed the latest reports on Trae Young‘s disappointment at the lack of an extension offer from the Hawks, he said that it was also somewhat expected by Young’s camp. Fischer called this season an opportunity for Young to maximize a roster built to complement his game, as well as an opportunity for the new front office to evaluate the players on the roster. If Young is able to maximize the team’s potential and earn All-NBA honors, he’d be eligible for a much more lucrative extension, and he also has a 2026/27 player option he could decline to enter free agency next year as possibly the top free agent on the board.
  • Prior to dealing him to the Jazz, the Celtics had talks with the Grizzlies during Summer League about a deal that would send Georges Niang to Memphis, according to Fischer, who said a rumored framework of Anfernee Simons for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was never discussed. Fischer noted that before RJ Luis signed a two-way deal with the Jazz, he was considering signing with the Celtics. The Jazz are expected to keep Niang as a veteran leader. Fischer also said that he’s not as confident that Simons gets traded before the season starts as he was that Niang would be dealt.
  • Fischer confirmed that Bennedict Mathurin is on track to receive a bigger role this season with the Pacers due to Tyrese Haliburton‘s injury, and that Mathurin is also hoping to secure a deal that would pay him $20-30MM per year. Fischer added that many of the unsigned rookie scale extension candidates likely won’t finalize new deals until the October deadline.

Eli Cohen contributed to this post.

Atlantic Notes: Quickley, Clarkson, Pagliuca, Maxey

A signing completed by the Raptors in July 2024 is looming over large over the current offseason, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (YouTube link), who points to the five-year deal Immanuel Quickley signed as a restricted free agent last offseason as a major outlier. That contract had a base value of $162.5MM, with an additional $12.5MM in bonuses. It’s worth $32.5MM per year, with a maximum value of $35MM per year.

“The Immanuel Quickley contract has totally screwed up restricted free agency,” Marks said. “Because that’s where agents are looking at like the benchmark. Certainly, (Bulls guard) Josh Giddey‘s like, ‘I want that contract.’ That number has screwed up a lot of things.”

As Marks goes on to explain, while the agents for extension candidates or current restricted free agents like Giddey will be eager to use the Quickley deal as a point of comparison for their clients, teams around the NBA haven’t been willing to go that high for players with somewhat similar résumés.

“… I don’t think Toronto got enough heat for that number,” Marks continued. “Because Immanuel Quickley is not a $32, $33 million guy.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

  • It has been so long since Jordan Clarkson played meaningful basketball that it’s difficult to predict exactly what he’ll bring to the Knicks in 2025/26, one Western Conference scout tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required). Clarkson remains a talented scorer and one team source believes he’s “exactly what we needed” off the bench, Bondy writes, though a veteran NBA coach notes that the veteran guard comes with some downside too. “High-level shooter. Good going right,” the coach said. “Wild-card-type player. Throw him out there and see if he can get hot. But there’s not much else from a production standpoint. And it’s ugly on defense.”
  • Jennifer Rizzotti, the president of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, said on Sunday that a deal to sell the franchise to Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca is “not quite at the finish line yet” and that the Sun will remain in Connecticut for the 2026 season, per ESPN’s Alexa Philippou. While both Rizzotti and Pagliuca (Twitter link) offered statements about the potential transaction, neither one disputed the fact that the plan is to move the team to Boston by 2027. Pagliuca spoke repeatedly in his statement about keeping the franchise “in New England.”
  • Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer takes a look at the off-court work Tyrese Maxey is doing in the Philadelphia community, noting that Maxey’s foundation donated $60K this weekend while the Sixers guard hosted a free basketball camp for kids on Saturday.

Stein’s Latest: Kuminga, Doncic, Vucevic, Fox, Love

Jonathan Kuminga‘s restricted free agent negotiations with the Warriors continue to be one of the top lingering storylines of the NBA offseason. Following up on recent reports indicating that Kuminga has turned down a two-year, $45MM offer with a team option on the second year, Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link) notes that the team’s request for the forward to waive his implicit no-trade clause is part of the holdup.

A player who re-signs with his previous team on a one-year contract or a two-year deal with a second-year option gets the right to veto trades for the rest of the season, but that right can be waived as part of the contract agreement. Jaxson Hayes, Taurean Prince, and Jeff Green are among several players who have waived their veto rights when re-signing with their respective teams this summer.

A player in that position who consents to a trade – either by waiving his veto rights when he signs or by eventually approving an in-season trade – would lose any form of Bird rights as part of the deal and would have Non-Bird rights at the end of the season.

Aside from the contract negotiations, Stein writes that while Kuminga has returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he is still not expected to play in FIBA’s AfroBasket tournament this summer. No official decision has been announced yet, but it’s unlikely that Kuminga would suit up for the Congolese team if his contract situation remains unresolved.

Here’s more from Stein:

  • Much has been made about Luka Doncic‘s three-year max extension with the Lakers and what it means for him and the team’s future, but Stein points out an important detail regarding the timeline of the deal. The contract would allow Doncic to become an unrestricted free agent in 2028 when he has more than eight years of NBA service and four seasons with his current team, which means he would be eligible for a no-trade clause if he were to wait until ’28 free agency to sign a new contract with the Lakers. Stein writes that while Doncic will have technically played three-and-a-half years with the Lakers, he’d still meet the no-trade criteria because he would have finished four seasons with the Lakers, even if he started the first one in Dallas.
  • While the offseason buyout market has been particularly active this offseason, Stein cautions fans not to expect Bulls center Nikola Vucevic to join the likes of Bradley Beal and Damian Lillard this summer. He writes that unless a trade materializes in the next couple of months, Vucevic will very likely begin next season in Chicago. There has been speculation that the veteran big man could be a prime mid-season buyout candidate if no deal occurs by February’s trade deadline.
  • Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox became eligible on Sunday for a three- or four-year extension that would look like the one Doncic signed in L.A. However, Stein notes that with the rise of reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle and the addition of Dylan Harper with the No. 2 overall pick, there are questions league-wide about whether such a max deal is an automatic decision for San Antonio.
  • Kevin Love is actively exploring landing spots in the case of a potential buyout from the Jazz after landing in Utah as a part of the Heat’s trade for Norman Powell, though Stein doesn’t name any possible suitors.

Bulls’ Ayo Dosunmu Expects To Be Ready For Training Camp

Bulls swingman Ayo Dosunmu expects to be a full participant in training camp after his 2024/25 season was cut short by shoulder surgery, Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune reports (subscription required).

Dosunmu underwent left shoulder surgery in early March. He had an estimated four-to-six month recovery window.

“I feel great,” Dosunmu said. “I feel right on schedule if not ahead. I’m just excited for these next couple of months to really get in even better shape and be able to go out there.”

Dosunmu has been cleared for contact and is looking forward to scrimmaging against teammates such as Coby White and Matas Buzelis later this summer when Bulls players host an informal mini-camp in Miami, according to Poe.

Dosunmu appeared in 46 games this past season, making 26 starts and averaging a career-high 12.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per contest with .492/.328/.785 shooting splits. His shoulder injury may partially explain why his three-point shooting dropped off from a 40.1% success rate the previous season.

The 25-year-old is entering the final year of his three-year, $21MM contract. He will make $7.5MM next season before becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer, unless he’s signed to an extension.

Dosunmu was nagged by a shoulder injury over the last two years. At some point, he fractured the anterior of his non-shooting shoulder, creating weakness in the socket. That led at times to partial dislocation, resulting in numbness.

He tried to play through the pain but he dislocated his shoulder in a Feb. 20 game against the Knicks and toughed it out a few more games before being shut down.

Dosunmu projects to play regular minutes at the two and three and could slot into the starting lineup alongside guards Josh Giddey and Coby White, as he did frequently last season. He’ll be battling Kevin Huerter and Isaac Okoro, among others, for playing time.

International Notes: Dowtin, A. Traore, S. Johnson, Vucevic

After spending the 2024/25 season on a two-way contract with the 76ers, free agent guard Jeff Dowtin is drawing interest from a handful of teams in Europe, Dario Skerletic of Sportando writes, citing a report from Tomer Givati of Israel Hayom.

According to Givati, Dowtin is engaged in talks with Maccabi Tel Aviv, Partizan Belgrade, and Fenerbahce, with Maccabi believed to be the favorite to sign him at this point.

Dowtin, 28, has four years of NBA experience, having appeared in games for five separate teams since entering the league in 2021. The 2024/25 season was his best, as he posted averaged of 7.0 points, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per game across 41 outings, with a solid shooting line of .487/.400/.733.

Dowtin is no longer eligible for a two-way deal, so there may not be a clear path to an NBA roster spot this fall, making a move overseas a more appealing option.

Here are a few more notes from around the international basketball world:

  • Former Lakers two-way player Armel Traore has signed a two-year contract with ASVEL, the French club announced today (via Twitter). The 6’9″ forward caught on with the Lakers after going undrafted in 2024 and appeared in eight games for the NBA club last season before being waived in February.
  • Veteran forward Stanley Johnson, the eighth overall pick in the 2015 draft, will continue his career in Japan, having signed with Nagasaki Velca for the 2025/26 season, according to an announcement from the club (hat tip to Sportando). Johnson, 29, appeared in 449 regular season games for five NBA teams from 2015-23, but has spent the past two seasons in the G League and with Anadolu Efes in Turkey.
  • A handful of EuroLeague teams are keeping an eye on Bulls center Nikola Vucevic, per a report from SportKlub, relayed by Sportando. Jake Fischer recently speculated in a Bleacher Report stream that a mid-season buyout may be a more likely outcome for Vucevic than a trade. However, the 34-year-old remains extremely productive – he averaged 18.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game with a .530/.402/.805 shooting line last season – and there has been absolutely no indication a buyout will materialize anytime soon. Even in the event of a buyout, Vucevic would presumably have no shortage of NBA offers.

Latest On Josh Giddey

Four weeks into the NBA’s 2025 free agent period, the Bulls and restricted free agent guard Josh Giddey are locked into a stalemate in their contract negotiations, but the two sides have remained engaged in discussions throughout the offseason and there’s mutual interest in working out a multiyear agreement, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.

According to Cowley, the two sides are still apart by about $8-10MM per year. That lines up with previous reporting that indicated Giddey’s camp is seeking an average annual value of $30MM while the Bulls prefer a deal in the range of $20MM per year.

For what it’s worth, rival executives polled by Fred Katz and Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic leaned more toward the Bulls’ valuation than Giddey’s. The Athletic’s duo asked 16 sources who work in NBA front offices what they’d consider a “fair” contract for Giddey and 14 of them suggested an average annual value ranging from $20-25MM per year.

However, as Katz and Lorenzi note, 10 of those 16 respondents also said they’d give Giddey four or five guaranteed years, which speaks to a level of optimism about his long-term floor. Only four free agents – Naz Reid, Myles Turner, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Sam Merrill – have received at least four guaranteed years since free agency began.

“If you’re offering a four-year contract, you have to be correct,” one executive told The Athletic. “But Giddey, you could offer a four-year deal.

“Giddey is the anomaly because he might be good enough to be a four-year player. 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.'”

According to Katz and Lorenzi, four executives suggested a four-year, $100MM deal for Giddey, while the most bullish respondent said he’d be comfortable with a five-year, $125MM commitment.

Of course, it’s worth noting – as was the case when Katz conducted a similar poll on Jonathan Kuminga‘s value – that rival team executives, who will have their own contract negotiations to deal with and don’t want the market to be set too high, are more likely to take a conservative view when asked to project a player’s contract. In other words, the responses in a poll of 16 agents might look more like what Giddey and his representatives are seeking.

As Cowley writes, there’s no rush for the Bulls and Giddey to bridge the gap in the short term — the 22-year-old’s qualifying offer won’t expire until at least October 1, which is right around the time training camps will be getting underway.

Giddey got off to a slow start in his first season as a Bull after being acquired from Oklahoma City in exchange for Alex Caruso, but finished strong, particularly after the team traded Zach LaVine to Sacramento. Between the start of February and the end of the regular season, Giddey averaged 20.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 8.1 assists per game with a shooting line of .491/.451/.801 across 25 outings.

Bulls Sign Billy Donovan To Multiyear Extension

Head coach Billy Donovan has signed a multi-year extension with the Bulls, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The team’s PR staff has confirmed the deal, according to K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link).

Charania’s sources say that negotiations between Donovan and the team began late last season and continued through this week. Chicago also reportedly gave extensions to executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley, keeping its current management team in place.

Donovan, 60, has a 195-205 record in five seasons with the Bulls. He has led them to just one playoff series, losing to Milwaukee in five games in 2022, and they have been ousted in the play-in tournament in each of the past three seasons. Despite limited on-court success, Johnson points out that Donovan still has strong support from ownership and the front office (Twitter link).

Donovan was among several established coaches the Knicks sought to interview last month after firing Tom Thibodeau. The Bulls, like all their counterparts, turned down those requests, and a report at the time indicated that Donovan is “in Chicago to stay.”

A former college star at Providence, Donovan built his coaching reputation by leading Florida to back-to-back NCAA titles in 2006 and 2007. He left for the NBA in 2015 and compiled a 243-157 record in five years with Oklahoma City. He led the Thunder to the playoffs each season and earned NBA Coaches Association Coach of the Year honors in 2020, but he and the team reached a mutual decision to part ways.

Although the Bulls were just 39-43 last season, players responded well to Donovan’s new approach of playing at a faster tempo. They finished sixth in the league in scoring at 117.8 PPG and tied for third by making 15.4 three-pointers per game. Chicago has parted with veterans such as Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan in recent years and has decided that Donovan is the right coach to transition into an emphasis on younger talent.

With Donovan’s extension out of the way, the next priority will be to resolve a contract standoff with restricted free agent Josh Giddey.