Josh Giddey's Latest Contract Update Paints Reality for Bulls

Giddey has been sitting in restricted free agency for the entire 2025 offseason. While a deal was expected to get done fairly easily, the two sides still have not come near an agreement.

Giddey has been asking for around $30 million per year on his next deal, but the Bulls are not touching that number. Bulls insider K.C. Johnson reported that the Bulls' best offer has been a long-term deal worth around $20 million per year.

"The Bulls do have a long-term offer on the table, believed to be in the neighborhood of $20 million a year," Johnson said. "It's pretty well-documented that Josh Giddey and his representatives are seeking in that $30 million range, so there's still a pretty significant gulf financially."

Bulls have the leverage

While Giddey can try to hold some leverage over the Bulls by threatening to sign the qualifying offer, the reality is that Chicago still holds all the leverage in this situation.

NBA insider Brett Siegel painted the reality for all restricted free agents this offseason who are in similar situations.

"Restricted free agency has turned into a battle of leverage between players and their respective teams. Josh Giddey and the Chicago Bulls have yet to reach a deal this offseason. The same can be said about Quentin Grimes and Cam Thomas with the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets, respectively," Siegel wrote.

"All four restricted free agency situations are held up because of leverage, and in all four cases, it's the organizations that basically have full control of the players."

While Giddey can threaten to sign the qualifying offer, and the Bulls would not want him to do that, they know that the young guard wants a long-term deal, and taking the qualifying offer would be a huge risk for him. Sure, the Bulls could still raise their offer a bit to make this situation go away, but the franchise holds enough leverage to stay firm if they do not want to budge.