While the negotiations dragged into September, Josh Giddey confirmed this week that his contract talks with the Bulls were never contentious, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. The Australian guard re-signed with the Bulls on a four-year, $100MM deal as a restricted free agent.
“When you hit free agency — I was a restricted [free agent] — rumors will start to circulate, and I let my management and agent handle that side of things with the front office here,” Giddey said. “So I tried to stay out of it. When there was something to know, I knew. My agent would tell me. Other than that, there were never any bad feelings. It’s a negotiation, and that’s how it goes. It’s kind of the nature of the business.
“When the season ended, I knew that was going to happen. . . . This is where I always wanted to be, and now I’m locked in for another four years.”
According to Cowley, Giddey said he’s relieved he won’t have to think about a new deal for multiple years.
“Everyone wants to play for that second contract; it’s part of being an NBA player,” Giddey said. “You want to extend your career. I was no different. The fact that it’s locked in and I have four years where I don’t have to think about it is a pretty big weight off my shoulders because it was always kind of lingering.”
Here’s more from Chicago:
- Due to the limitations of what they can offer, Coby White has reportedly informed the Bulls he isn’t going to sign an extension before he hits unrestricted free agency next summer. The 25-year-old guard said he’s focused on the present rather than the future, as Cowley relays. “I’m thinking about now and how I can help my team win and become better in every aspect of the game,” White said. “I’m blessed and fortunate to be in this situation, but I always say that I love being here, I love the front office, I love the relationship that I built with Coach (Billy Donovan), and me and my teammates are super close, so I’m enjoying every moment.”
- Backup point guard Tre Jones was determined to return to the Bulls instead of exploring external options in free agency, per Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic (Twitter video link). “I definitely wanted to be back. I didn’t wanna think about going anywhere else,” said Jones, who re-signed with Chicago on a three-year, $24MM contract.
- Sixth-year forward Patrick Williams lost weight and added lean muscle over the summer in an effort to improve his game, tweets K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network. Williams wasn’t wasn’t pleased with his performance in ’24/25. “I need to be better,” he said of his offseason approach.
September 9: The Bulls and restricted free agent guard
Golden State’s latest proposal is a three-year, $75.2MM deal with a team option in the third season, according to the authors’ sources. It includes $48.3MM in guaranteed money over the first two years, which Slater and Charania point out is nearly equal to the annual salary that restricted free agent
As for next summer, the Giddey extension doesn’t change the fact that Chicago will look to be a player in free agency. Should the Bulls keep
“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.”