Advertisement - scroll for more content
Josh Giddey Rumors
Bulls offering a four-year, $88 million deal to Josh Giddey
Bobby Marks: So when you dig around the Josh Giddey situation, who had a terrific year, certainly the last 25 games, he was offered four years, $80 million when free agency started, that number has gone up to four years, $88 million. That number is at the bottom of the starting point guards here. So, if you're the Bulls and you just committed five years, $90 million to Patrick Williams based on a lesser body of work, now you're all of a sudden drawing a line in the sand as far as where you are with Josh Giddey here.
Cam Thomas signing one-year, $6 million qualifying offer to return to Brooklyn
Restricted free agent Cam Thomas is signing a one-year, $6 million qualifying offer to return to the Brooklyn Nets, sources told ESPN on Thursday. The Nets were unable to reach a long-term deal with Thomas, so the 23-year-old high-scoring guard opted for the qualifying offer that gives him a full no-trade clause and sets him for unrestricted free agency next summer with at least 10 teams set to have cap space. Thomas is the first among the final restricted free agents in the NBA to land on a decision (including the Chicago Bulls' Josh Giddey, Golden State Warriors' Jonathan Kuminga, Philadelphia 76ers' Quentin Grimes). Thomas is only the fifth former first-round pick to sign a qualifying offer since 2017.
"Will Giddey sign the qualifying offer?" said Jake Fischer. "That is his threat. That is his leverage right now over the Chicago Bulls." The Bulls remain adamant they will not entertain sign-and-trade scenarios for Giddey. Some teams do have interest in Giddey, but the Bulls are not engaging them at this time. "Chicago doesn't want to lose Josh Giddey at all," said Fischer. "They've been telling other teams, they've been telling agents since the combine, that they are not interested in having any discussion whatsoever with Josh Giddey. They value Josh Giddey. They traded Alex Caruso straight up for Josh Giddey when they had offers from various teams over the years for multiple first-round picks for Alex Caruso. That's how much they value Josh Giddey. They see him as a major focal point of their roster moving forward. But they are not going to engage in any sign-and-trade scenario, and they're not really going to move off their offer. So this is a holding pattern."
Bulls have given no indications that they are amenable to Josh Giddey sign-and-trade option
Bulls on CHSN: KC Johnson: The Bulls do have a long-term offer on the table… believed to be in the neighborhood of $20 million/year. It's pretty well-documented that Josh Giddey and his representation are seeking in that $30 million range. So there's still a pretty significant gulf financially. The difference in this restricted free agency situation... unlike the Lauri Markkanen situation... is that the Bulls have given no indications league-wide that they are amenable to a sign-and-trade option.
Multiple Eastern Conference teams contacted Josh Giddey's representation to discuss possible sign-and-trade
League sources say that the Bulls made an offer of $80 million over four years to restricted free agent Josh Giddey when the offseason commenced on June 30. Giddey, of course, is seeking an annual salary in the $30 million range. Chicago has been anchored in the $20 million range in annual value ever since its original offer. Sources say Giddey has managed to attract some external interest from rival teams since free agency began, with multiple Eastern Conference teams contacting Giddey's representation to register sign-and-trade interest. Yet it's likewise true that more than one rival front office has indicated a reluctance to try to engage the Bulls in sign-and-trade discussions, sources say, with Chicago having messaged for some time that it is not eager to discuss such scenarios.
Advertisement
Warriors have geniune interest in Josh Giddey
But Golden State's interest in Giddey is genuine. The Warriors were prepared to select Giddey with the seventh overall pick in the 2021 draft, sources say, only for Oklahoma City to chose Giddey and steer the Warriors toward selecting Kuminga at No. 7 overall. It's believed that both the Thunder and the Warriors had Giddey and Kuminga projected as the players to go sixth and seventh in some order entering that draft. I'm told that the Warriors continue to value Giddey's skillset and have communicated their interest to the Australian point guard's representation. There simply does not appear to be a feasible pathway to such a trade … not right now.
Cam Thomas the likeliest restricted free agent to accept qualifying offer
The Nets' Cam Thomas might be the most likely of the four notable restricted free agents out there — along with Giddey, Kuminga and Philadelphia's Quentin Grimes — to take the bet-on-yourself option and accept his qualifying offer. Brooklyn has not made an aggressive effort to retain Thomas on any long-term deal, sources say. Sources also say Thomas is showing an increasing interest in playing out next season on a $6 million qualifier for the right to enjoy true free agency next summer.
Allen Stiles: I'm in the process of trying to get that confirmation within either organization, but when it comes to the Malik Monk of it all, right, from what I've heard and from those that do tend to be in the know, they would not be surprised if the Kings were one of those teams. Now, obviously Josh Giddey is a guard and they do have Dennis Schroeder on this three-year deal, but everything that the Kings have done to this point this off season have told us that they are open to everything. They are open to literally everything.
Warriors interested in Josh Giddey
Jake Fischer: I can report there have been multiple teams that have reached out to Josh Giddey's representation about having interest in Josh Giddey. Golden State is one of them. Golden State would be interested dependent on the machinations in some type of Josh Giddey, Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade, from my understanding.
Since there are no cap-space teams in circulation to emerge with an offer sheet to Thomas or fellow restricted free agents like Golden State's Jonathan Kuminga and Chicago's Josh Giddey, Brooklyn appears to be in no rush to expedite discussions with Thomas' representation.
Advertisement
Bulls, Josh Giddey $8-$10 million apart in free-agent negotiations?
It’s not supposed to look harmonious. As a member of the Bulls’ organization recently pointed out in a text, “It’s a negotiation.” That’s why the Bulls and guard Josh Giddey are in a stalemate in contract-extension talks. The sides have remained active in discussions throughout the offseason. More important, there’s still a lot of time to get a deal done. Could Giddey play hardball by breaking off talks and telling the organization that he’s simply signing the $11 million qualifying offer, betting on himself, then becoming an unrestricted free agent in the summer of ’26? Sure, but he hasn’t done that. He wants to get a deal done to stay in Chicago, and the Bulls want him as a foundation piece, especially after helping the Thunder to an NBA title by giving them guard Alex Caruso for Giddey last offseason. They are somewhere between $8 million to $10 million per year apart.
Of the four remaining restricted players, Giddey inspired the most consistent contract suggestions. Respondents were most comfortable giving him money. Fourteen of the 16 participants proposed an average annual salary between $20 million and $25 million. (His mean average annual value in the poll came to $22.3 million a year.) One executive pinned him as an $18 million player. Another, a front-office staffer who admitted he would be far lower than the consensus because he wasn’t a fan of Giddey’s game, suggested $50 million over four years, $12.5 million a year — less than the midlevel exception for a player who put up 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists in 2024-25 and who averaged nearly a 20-point triple-double over his final 19 games.
“If you’re offering a four-year contract, you have to be correct,” said one executive, who then cut himself off. “But Giddey, you could offer a four-year deal.” The executive was one of four respondents who deemed $100 million over four years as fair for Giddey. “Giddey is the anomaly because he might be good enough to be a four-year player,” the executive said. “Nobody wants to go with long-term contracts because everybody wants this idea of flexibility. You wanna have the ability to (say), ‘You know what? My team’s not very good. Let’s pivot.’”
Jake Fischer: We're almost in August, but there's really no rush on any of these teams or players side of things if you're not moving these conversations closer to where you want to be. The last we reported on the Stein Line was that that Josh Giddey's side was still more anchored around $30 million AV and Chicago was more anchored around 20. So, why not take all the time you need to get those ballparks or those field goal posts closer? I don't really see a conclusion coming anytime soon.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement