The Chicago Bulls finally took steps this past season to usher in a new era of the team. They traded Zach LaVine, put a greater emphasis on their young players, and found a backcourt duo that looks to have a promising future.
Included in that promising future, and what should rank first on the team's to-do list, is re-signing guard Josh Giddey. He came to Chicago last year in an offseason trade involving Alex Caruso and immediately showed himself to be a player who can impact winning. In his first season with the Bulls, Giddey played in 70 games, averaging 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists on 46.5% shooting.
He became the second player in franchise history to average at least 14, eight, and seven, and his seven triple-doubles were the second-most in team history. The only player ahead of him in both categories? Michael Jordan.
Giddey also hit a memorable half-court buzzer-beater against the Los Angeles Lakers. While looking back, that shot didn't help the Bulls in the draft lottery, but at the time, it was a highlight moment of the season. The evidence is there that Giddey was an impactful player in his first season in Chicago, and he will be key in this new era of the team.
While his shooting and overall scoring ability leave a bit more to be desired, he made a big jump this season with the highest three-point percentage of his career. The Australian has also turned into one of the best all-around players in the league. His rebounding and assist numbers were both top-20, and he's an above-average defender who can guard multiple positions on the court.
Giddey has been pretty healthy in his first few years, missing just 12 games this season and just eight in the two years before that.
He only got better as the 2024-25 regular season went on, and he became more comfortable with the high-paced and three-point-heavy style of Billy Donovan's offense. His points per game increased each month from November to April, from 10.6 to start to 20.8 by the end of the season.
Giddey also averaged 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 9.3 assists a night in his 19 games after the All-Star break, in which Chicago had one of the best records in the league.
One final, but crucial statistic, is that Giddey is just 22 years old. Putting up nearly a 20-10-10 triple-double would be impressive for any player in the league, but the fact that he's doing it at such a young age is even more stunning.
There aren't a lot of players in the NBA that can put up those numbers, but with where he's at now, it looks like his performance can only go up from what was seen this past season.
Chicago only traded away Caruso in exchange for getting Giddey from the Oklahoma City Thunder. While Caruso is still an impactful player in his own right, adding Giddey to the roster without sacrificing a bunch of other young talent or draft picks is big for the Bulls after their recent history of questionable decision-making.
The team got lucky, and they shouldn't let Giddey walk in free agency because the contract he is asking for is too big, or the body of work isn't there. Many teams around the league would love to have him as their starting point guard, so the Bulls shouldn't squander the opportunity to not lock him down to lead this next iteration of the team.
Giddey will likely be asking for a contract worth nearly $150 million across five seasons. While that might sound like a lot, the numbers show that he is worth every penny. It also wouldn't come close to the money Chicago was paying LaVine for the last half-decade.
The bottom line is that the Bulls have just five players under contract after the 205-26 season ends. They had an amazing finish to this year, and need to build off it and bring that momentum into the second half of the decade.
The NBA is about star players who can lead a team, and that is what Giddey has shown in his first year in Chicago. The team shouldn't overthink the situation and just keep the guy who has shown some of the biggest potential for the team in years.