{"id":101582,"date":"2024-10-17T12:59:14","date_gmt":"2024-10-17T16:59:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=101582"},"modified":"2024-10-17T13:00:22","modified_gmt":"2024-10-17T17:00:22","slug":"lonzo-ball-josh-giddey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/17\/lonzo-ball-josh-giddey\/","title":{"rendered":"Lonzo Ball&#8217;s Return Spells Trouble for Josh Giddey"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">After exactly 1,004 days, <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/balllo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Lonzo Ball<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> has returned to the NBA. He took the court against the Minnesota Timberwolves in a preseason game. His first bucket was a three-point shot, and he even made <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">a couple of<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> hustle plays.\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">While everyone is happy to see Lonzo back on the court, one player on the Bulls roster might be affected. Let\u2019s explore the Lonzo Ball <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/giddejo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Josh Giddey<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> dynamics after the star point guard returned to play.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DBNIR7hxvC0\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n<div style=\"padding: 16px;\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n<div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DBNIR7hxvC0\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A post shared by House of Highlights (@houseofhighlights)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Lonzo Ball&#8217;s Return Spells Trouble for Josh Giddey<\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">To be fair, the Chicago Bulls might <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">be<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> in a messy situation even before Lonzo returned. The team has been in<\/span> <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">limbo for several years.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> This summer, <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">it seemed like<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> they finally decided to take a path after letting <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/derozde01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">DeMar DeRozan<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> go.\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">However, with Lonzo\u2019s return, they might have inadvertently affected their <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">big<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> trade acquisition. This summer, the Bulls traded <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/carusal01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Alex Caruso<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> for Josh <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Giddey<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0with the intention of signing the Australian guard to a long-term contract.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Yet, now, with Lonzo back, the Bulls have a <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/13\/nba-training-camp-battles-who-will-win-the-bulls-final-2-open-roster-spots\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">logjam<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> at the point guard position. All three of their guards, Giddey, Ball, <a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lavinza01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zach LaVine<\/a>, and <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/whiteco01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Coby <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">White,<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> are most efficient when they have the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">ball<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> in their hands. None of them is a great off-ball shooting guard.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">What is Giddey\u2019s Contract Situation?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Giddey is entering his fourth year on his rookie contract<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">and <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">he<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> is eligible to sign an extension <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">up<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> until October 21st.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> He was the No.6 overall pick in the 2021 draft, and the Bulls traded for him <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">with the intent<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> to sign him to a long-term deal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">As Shams Charania pointed out during an appearance on the Hoop Collective podcast,<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cHe\u2019s someone that I think the Bulls will engage with. They made that trade, trading away Alex Caruso for him. So,\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">they<\/span> <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">clearly<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> value him to an extent. But what does he want? What is his mentality on the marketplace? And what do they want to give\u201d?<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">As Brian Windhorst speculated during the Hoop Collective, Giddey might <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">be expecting<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> a starter salary<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">even a max contract.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> But if the Bulls were willing to give that to him, they would have done it by now.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Shams Charania JOINS! Murray In Denver &amp; BIG Trades That Never Happened | The Hoop Collective\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rNHlT8VjpQs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The problem is that <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">even next summer,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> Giddey will not be an unrestricted free agent.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> Instead, the Bulls can match any offer sheet he signs.\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Now, in a potential contract year, he has to share the floor with two other point guards <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">who need<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">ball<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> in their hands.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">It is All Love Between Lonzo and Josh<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">While Josh Giddey might be directly affected by Lonzo\u2019s return, it is all love between <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">the two of<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> them. Following the game in which <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Ball<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> scored 10 points on 4 of 6 shooting in 15 minutes of action, Giddey shared a <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/bulls\/news\/josh-giddey-s-four-word-message-to-lonzo-ball-after-bulls-timberwolves-01jac85eb1gk\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">four-word message<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> to him on Instagram. He wrote, \u201cWelcome back <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">my<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> boy<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201d<\/span> <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">clearly suggesting there is<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> no animosity between the two.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">What is the Marketplace for Josh Giddey?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Oklahoma City Thunder drafted Josh Giddey in the first round of the 2021 NBA draft. Last year, he started all 80 games, but his playing time decreased in the playoffs.\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Following the end of their season, OKC approached Giddey, suggesting he might come off the bench in the future. But he was not <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/nba\/news\/josh-giddey-didnt-want-to-come-off-the-bench-for-thunder-and-asked-for-trade-gm-sam-presti-says\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">enthusiastic<\/a> about it, so the two sides worked out on a trade. He ended up with the Bulls, a team that had an intent to trade for him and sign him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The problem is that Lonzo changes the whole dynamic of the team. We talked about how they have three starting-caliber point guards, and then you throw in <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lavinza01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Zach LaVine<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, who also wants the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">ball<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> in his <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/13\/bulls-head-coach-reveals-what-team-needs-from-zach-lavine\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">hands<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, and you have a logjam.\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">For his career,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> Giddey has averaged 13.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 5.7 assists.<\/span> <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Yet<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, last year<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, when he averaged 25 minutes per game, his numbers dropped a bit.\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Next summer, he<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> will be a restricted free agent<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. Yet,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> the problem is<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">there are not many teams with money<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0and even fewer<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> that need a <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">starting caliber<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> point guard.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Shams Charania talked about how agents view the contract <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/q\/quickim01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Immanuel Quickley<\/a> got,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> five <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">years and $175 million, as a standard threshold. Early projections show only four teams might have <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/KeithSmithNBA\/status\/1812225773631148175?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1812225773631148175%7Ctwgr%5E7d7280410c84248c343e18eae8219efcd6a57f57%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Furl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FKeithSmithNBA%2Fstatus%2F1812225773631148175\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cap space<\/a> next summer, including the Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards, Houston Rockets, and San Antonio Spurs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">At the same time, <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">the list of<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> potential free agent point guards includes Lonzo Ball, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jonesty01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tyus Jones<\/a> (who will be playing for a big contract), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/v\/vanvlfr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Fred VanFleet<\/a>(team option), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/i\/irvinky01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kyrie Irving<\/a>(player option), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/brogdma01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Malcolm Brogdon<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/russeda01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">D\u2019Angelo Russell<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/schrode01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dennis Schroeder<\/a>, and more.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After exactly 1,004 days, Lonzo Ball has returned to the NBA. He took the court against the Minnesota Timberwolves in a preseason game. His first bucket was a three-point shot, and he even made a couple of hustle plays.\u00a0While everyone is happy to see Lonzo back on the court, one player on the Bulls roster [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5291,"featured_media":101651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,1608,62],"tags":[1782,3178,4276,667,457],"class_list":["post-101582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bulls","category-basketball","category-nba","tag-coby-white","tag-immanuel-quickley","tag-josh-giddey","tag-lonzo-ball","tag-zach-lavine"],"modified_by":"Eamon Cassels, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5291"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101582\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}