Chicago Bulls analyst admits some panic about Josh Giddey

For now, Josh Giddey and other restricted free agents are having a lot of trouble getting any interest on the market, thereby giving the teams that own their rights, in Giddey’s case, the Chicago Bulls, all the leverage as they seek long-term deals. But Giddey is holding strong. Is it time to panic that he won’t be back?

David Haugh said on Chicago Sports Network, “There’s a $10 million gap between what Giddey is seeking and what we know the Bulls are offering. Where does this go from here, and at what point should Bulls fans start to worry?”

Cam Smith said, “Training camp opens September 29… I’m starting to get concerned, as you sit on this day, as you get closer to training camp, what’s the mentality of Josh Giddey as he prepares for that? Because that’s a significant size gap when you think about what [he] wants, reportedly.”

Smith also added that he’s very concerned that Giddey will end up signing the $11 million qualifying offer and enter unrestricted free agency a year from now. “That is the worst-case scenario, especially when you think of what you gave up to get Josh Giddey,” the analyst said.

He also said he’d prefer to see Giddey and the Bulls reach some sort of conclusion on this by the end of the month, which is now just over a week away. He wants Giddey to be comfortable and have the right mindset for training camp at the end of September.

Smith did not say much about Giddey signing elsewhere, and his ultimate thought process is that the guard will be back. The concern is that it takes so long that it impacts Giddey’s preparation for next season, which begins with quite a difficult stretch of games.