NBA insider analyzes 3 scenarios for Chicago Bulls, Josh Giddey

The Chicago Bulls refuse to meet Josh Giddey’s reported asking price, and the guard refuses to accept a deal. That has them currently at a stalemate, but there are three possible outcomes to this never-ending saga.

Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey said the least likely is that Giddey signs an offer sheet with another team. The Brooklyn Nets have space, but they don’t need or want Giddey right now, so any offer sheet Giddey signs would be less than the $80 million deal the Bulls offered, so Chicago would match. Giddey would just lose money.

The next most likely outcome is that Giddey gets into a sign-and-trade, probably with an Eastern Conference team. Giddey has reportedly had some traction with Eastern Conference teams so far, so that would make a rival more likely than a swap for Jonathan Kuminga.

“But when you canvas the East for teams in need of a lead playmaker, you quickly realize there really aren’t a ton,” Bailey said. “Add in the fact that any team taking on Giddey would then be hard-capped at the first apron, and this scenario starts to feel pretty unlikely, too.”

And unsurprisingly, Bailey believes the most likely outcome is a reunion with the Bulls. “Perhaps threatening to play on the qualifying offer could force the Bulls to mold the deal a bit more to his liking. That could mean a bit more money each year or a shorter-term deal that gets him back into free agency sooner,” Bailey argued.

The Bulls were plus-11.7 points with Giddey, Coby White, Kevin Huerter, and Matas Buzelis all on the floor, so it’s in their best interest to bring Giddey back, even if it means they don’t sign him to the most team-friendly deal ever.

“Chicago actually does have a need the Australian fills, and it allowed him to grow into his game in a way he never really could with the Oklahoma City Thunder,” Bailey added. “And his stock should keep going up if he’s able to develop and maintain the continuity he has with the Bulls.”