Chicago Bulls score rare praise for $100M Josh Giddey deal

The Chicago Bulls knew they needed Josh Giddey, but they also knew there was virtually no other market for him. They ended up getting a mildly team-friendly deal that makes the Alex Caruso deal a little better and gives them a piece to work with as they continue trying to build.

“While I’m generally not a fan of much of what’s happened in Chicago lately, the Bulls’ four-year, $100 million contract with Josh Giddey is completely fine and sets up as a likely long-term win for the Bulls. I’m amazed more people don’t think this. It won’t get a draft pick back for Alex Caruso, but given Chicago’s situation, it was the right move,” The Athletic’s John Hollinger wrote.

Giddey certainly has “apparent weaknesses,” as evidenced by the end of his Oklahoma City Thunder tenure, but he’s still just 22 years old and is coming off his best season in the NBA. The second half in particular was quite good, and he shot almost 38% from three. Giddey had no place with the Thunder, but there’s no reason he can’t continue to evolve and improve, like he did, with the Bulls.

To make things even better, Hollinger wrote that this isn’t Patrick Williams 2.0. “While it’s true the Bulls had most of the leverage because Giddey was a restricted free agent in a market with no buyers, he also had the strongest résumé of any of the four key RFAs whose situations dragged (Giddey, Golden State’s Jonathan Kuminga, Philadelphia’s Quentin Grimes and Brooklyn’s Cam Thomas).”

At $25 million annually, Giddey doesn’t have to be a superstar to live up to the deal. That’s 14% of the salary cap, which could easily be the type of money for a talented sixth man or third option on a good team. The pressure is off now, and $25 million for the second-best player on a bad team is neither bad nor surprising.

Hollinger was quick to point out that Giddey would be “the sixth-highest paid player on the 2026-27 Cleveland Cavaliers or the fifth-highest paid on this year’s Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, New York Knicks or Minnesota Timberwolves.” That’s great value for the Bulls, and it could only get better.