Bulls re-sign Josh Giddey to lucrative deal

The Chicago Bulls and restricted free agent guard Josh Giddey are in agreement on a four-year, $100M contract, agent Daniel Moldovan tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The team has announced the signing in a press release.

Reporting throughout the offseason had indicated that Giddey and his camp were seeking an annual salary of $30M, while the Bulls initially pitched a contract in the neighborhood of $20M annually. The two sides ultimately compromised right in the middle on a deal worth $25M per year.

Josh Giddey has fit in well with Chicago Bulls

Giddey, who was one of four top restricted free agents still unsigned when September began, will get the most lucrative contract any RFA has signed so far this summer and will become one of just five free agents to receive at least $100M this offseason, joining Naz Reid, Kyrie Irving, Myles Turner and Julius Randle.

The sixth overall pick in the 2021 draft, Giddey spent his first three NBA seasons in Oklahoma City, but wasn’t an ideal fit on a Thunder roster that featured star point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He was traded to the Bulls during the 2024 offseason straight up for defensive ace Alex Caruso.

Chicago faced plenty of criticism for its decision to send out one of its most valuable trade chips for a player who had just been benched by the Thunder in the postseason, without getting any sort of draft compensation in the deal. But the Bulls were confident in Giddey’s ability to thrive as more of a primary ball-handler, and he responded with the best year of his career, setting new personal highs in rebounds (8.1) and assists (7.2) per game, as well as three-point percentage (37.8%).

While Giddey had an up-and-down first half in Chicago, he thrived in the second half, particularly after the team traded away Zach LaVine. Between the All-Star break and the end of the season, Giddey nearly averaged a triple-double, with 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, 9.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game and a .500/.457/.809 shooting line. His usage rate, which had been 20.2% prior to the All-Star break, was 24.9% the rest of the way, and the Bulls won 12 of those 19 games.

The exact terms of Giddey’s new deal aren’t yet known, but the Bulls will have a significant amount of cap flexibility going forward — including a big chunk of cap room in 2026 and/or 2027 — no matter how it’s structured. Currently, Patrick Williams is the only player on the roster owed guaranteed money beyond the 2026-27 season.

With Giddey re-signed and Nets guard Cam Thomas having accepted his qualifying offer, just two notable restricted free agents still don’t have deals in place: Jonathan Kuminga of the Warriors and Quentin Grimes of the Sixers. They have until Oct. 1 to accept their respective qualifying offers.