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Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
$45 million contract fight: Why the Chicago Bulls are playing hardball with Josh Giddey
Why is Josh Giddey locked in a contract fight? At 22, Giddey – now the face of the Australian Boomers – is seeking a substantial payday, and was buoyed by the manner in which he ended his first season with the Bulls, and fourth overall in the league. He was traded by the Oklahoma City Thunder to the franchise made famous by Michael Jordan ahead of the 2024-25 season in exchange for defensive guard Alex Caruso. The latter was an important piece in the Thunder's NBA championship. Giddey had an indifferent start with the Bulls, but coach Billy Donovan turned the team over to him after the All-Star break, and Giddey thrived, averaging 21 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists while shooting 45.7 per cent from three-point range through until the end of the season. This included a stunning half-court buzzer beater over LeBron James to beat the Los Angeles Lakers in Chicago in what was one of the wildest finishes last season. Giddey finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. In an earlier game on the road against the Lakers, Giddey had a near quadruple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds, 17 assists, and eight steals, reinforcing his all round value. The middling Bulls, however, were eliminated in the play-in tournament game ahead of the play-offs. What are the options for Giddey and the Chicago Bulls? Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf is notoriously stingy when it comes to avoiding paying the NBA's luxury tax, meaning Giddey faces a major fight to get what he wants. As a restricted free agent, Giddey cannot sign outright with another team, but he could be part of a sign-and-trade deal. In that type of deal, Giddey would ink an extension with the Bulls and then be traded. But his new team would need to create salary cap space by trading a player back to the Bulls. Loading According to the Stein Line, Giddey has attracted interest from a handful of eastern conference teams, while Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors also have interest, although the Warriors have financial issues to address. According to ESPN, the Warriors are about $25 million below the first tax apron. They could try and secure Giddey through a sign-and-trade deal by getting him to sign a $20 million-a-year deal with the Bulls, and then bump his salary up by the spare $5 million they have. One suggestion raised in the US media has been a double sign-and-trade that would swap Giddey and the Warriors' free agent small forward Jonathan Kuminga, but there remain hurdles. Giddey also has the option of accepting the Bulls' one-year qualifying final offer of $17 million, backing himself to have another strong season, and perhaps securing an even better deal come unrestricted free agency after the 2025-26 season. As a restricted free agent, he has until October 1 to decide whether to accept the one-year offer. 'I think he knows what he is worth. They [the Bulls] know what he is worth. Other teams are starting to look around and say: 'If you don't want him, we'll take him'. Golden State have mentioned something, Sacramento have mentioned something,' Copeland, now a prominent NBL commentator, said. Giddey's agent Daniel Moldovan and the Bulls were contacted for comment. Loading How will this play out in the NBA off-season market? We are still only midway through the off-season, so there is plenty of time for a deal to be done. The Bulls say Giddey remains a key part of their future, and he will be paid well. Perhaps middle ground will be found, with Giddey signing for an overall deal worth $135 million. However, there are several restricted free agents still available, when typically there are two or three, highlighting how the new collective bargaining agreement is squeezing teams. 'I honestly don't think the Bulls want to lose him. I think they'll come to conclusion soon,' Copeland said. 'The Bulls, back in my day, had a reputation of winning championships. They haven't done that in a very long time [the last title was with Jordan in 1997-98].
The Age
2 hours ago
- The Age
$45 million contract fight: Why the Chicago Bulls are playing hardball with Josh Giddey
Why is Josh Giddey locked in a contract fight? At 22, Giddey – now the face of the Australian Boomers – is seeking a substantial payday, and was buoyed by the manner in which he ended his first season with the Bulls, and fourth overall in the league. He was traded by the Oklahoma City Thunder to the franchise made famous by Michael Jordan ahead of the 2024-25 season in exchange for defensive guard Alex Caruso. The latter was an important piece in the Thunder's NBA championship. Giddey had an indifferent start with the Bulls, but coach Billy Donovan turned the team over to him after the All-Star break, and Giddey thrived, averaging 21 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists while shooting 45.7 per cent from three-point range through until the end of the season. This included a stunning half-court buzzer beater over LeBron James to beat the Los Angeles Lakers in Chicago in what was one of the wildest finishes last season. Giddey finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. In an earlier game on the road against the Lakers, Giddey had a near quadruple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds, 17 assists, and eight steals, reinforcing his all round value. The middling Bulls, however, were eliminated in the play-in tournament game ahead of the play-offs. What are the options for Giddey and the Chicago Bulls? Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf is notoriously stingy when it comes to avoiding paying the NBA's luxury tax, meaning Giddey faces a major fight to get what he wants. As a restricted free agent, Giddey cannot sign outright with another team, but he could be part of a sign-and-trade deal. In that type of deal, Giddey would ink an extension with the Bulls and then be traded. But his new team would need to create salary cap space by trading a player back to the Bulls. Loading According to the Stein Line, Giddey has attracted interest from a handful of eastern conference teams, while Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors also have interest, although the Warriors have financial issues to address. According to ESPN, the Warriors are about $25 million below the first tax apron. They could try and secure Giddey through a sign-and-trade deal by getting him to sign a $20 million-a-year deal with the Bulls, and then bump his salary up by the spare $5 million they have. One suggestion raised in the US media has been a double sign-and-trade that would swap Giddey and the Warriors' free agent small forward Jonathan Kuminga, but there remain hurdles. Giddey also has the option of accepting the Bulls' one-year qualifying final offer of $17 million, backing himself to have another strong season, and perhaps securing an even better deal come unrestricted free agency after the 2025-26 season. As a restricted free agent, he has until October 1 to decide whether to accept the one-year offer. 'I think he knows what he is worth. They [the Bulls] know what he is worth. Other teams are starting to look around and say: 'If you don't want him, we'll take him'. Golden State have mentioned something, Sacramento have mentioned something,' Copeland, now a prominent NBL commentator, said. Giddey's agent Daniel Moldovan and the Bulls were contacted for comment. Loading How will this play out in the NBA off-season market? We are still only midway through the off-season, so there is plenty of time for a deal to be done. The Bulls say Giddey remains a key part of their future, and he will be paid well. Perhaps middle ground will be found, with Giddey signing for an overall deal worth $135 million. However, there are several restricted free agents still available, when typically there are two or three, highlighting how the new collective bargaining agreement is squeezing teams. 'I honestly don't think the Bulls want to lose him. I think they'll come to conclusion soon,' Copeland said. 'The Bulls, back in my day, had a reputation of winning championships. They haven't done that in a very long time [the last title was with Jordan in 1997-98].
Perth Now
4 hours ago
- Perth Now
‘Encouraging stuff': Dogs finals boost
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge is confident injury-plagued star Adam Treloar won't 'compromise' his team's finals push, with a likely VFL return this week a possible precursor to a surprising AFL return. It comes as the Bulldogs confirmed Jordan Croft, son of former defender Matthew, would become the club's fifth debutant this season against West Coast on Sunday. The Bulldogs have to win their final two games against the Eagles and Fremantle to lock in a finals spot and a fit Treloar, an All-Australian in 2024, would enhance their chances. But the 32-year-old, who is out of contract at the end of the season, has been limited to just four games in 2025, his most recent in round 16, after a series of calf issues that impacted his pre-season. Beveridge said Treloar's progression through to full training in recent weeks had been 'encouraging', and while caution would be exercised, Treloar could yet be a presence in the finals should the Bulldogs make it. 'He's had a couple of good weeks, almost surprising weeks,' Beveridge said on Wednesday. 'Encouraging stuff, to the point where now we can consider him for some state league minutes. 'My philosophy around playing players who are underprepared is they can't compromise the team at any level. 'But we believe that he won't because he's done the necessary preparations. 'We just need to firm it up. It's still early in the week and we've got another session on Friday.' But while Treloar could return in the VFL this week, troubled forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan won't. Beveridge said comments from Bulldogs assistant coach Brendon Lade last weekend that Ugle-Hagan had 'put himself back a couple more weeks' by missing more training sessions and would be 'lucky to get a game' in the VFL side were a lesson for the prospective senior coach. 'I think it was more about how well Footscray are going, rather than Jamarra's preparation,' Beveridge said. ''Ladey' will live and learn. 'That's the thing about taking lines like that in different contexts, it can come back to bite you. 'He's learned an early lesson if he's hopefully part of that market for a senior coaching job.' Beveridge said it 'remains to be seen' whether Ugle-Hagan would get back to his best. He has another year of his contract to run in 2026. Croft, taken at pick 15 in the 2023 draft, comes in after kicking three goals in the VFL against the ladder-leading Box Hill Hawks last Saturday. His father played 186 games for the Bulldogs as a key defender.
