{"id":124533,"date":"2025-02-21T10:56:52","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T15:56:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=124533"},"modified":"2025-02-21T10:56:52","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T15:56:52","slug":"should-bulls-retain-josh-giddey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/02\/21\/should-bulls-retain-josh-giddey\/","title":{"rendered":"Should the Bulls Retain Restricted Free Agent Josh Giddey?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the offseason looming closer<\/a>, so does NBA free agency. As players come and go, so potentially could Bulls primary ball-handler Josh Giddey<\/a>. Will the Chicago front office retain the restricted free agent? Or will they part ways in favor of another candidate?<\/p>\n

Should the Bulls Retain Josh Giddey in Free Agency?<\/h2>\n

After being acquired via trade from Oklahoma City in exchange for Alex Caruso<\/a>, Giddey has been solid for the Bulls. In 51 games this season, Giddey has averaged 12.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and 1.1 steals (career-high). However, his shooting efficiency could improve, as all of his adjusted shooting stats sit below the league average (via Basketball-Reference<\/a>). With Zach LaVine<\/a> in Sacramento, Giddey has only become more important for the Bulls.<\/p>\n

Despite the lagging shooting numbers, Giddey\u2019s role is not defined by his shooting. He is the Bulls’ primary facilitator; his job is to generate scoring chances, and he has been executing. According to Basketball Index<\/a>, Josh Giddey is currently averaging 7.78 assists per 75 possessions, the second-highest of any Bulls player since 2014 (first is 2016-17 Rajon Rondo<\/a> with 9.34). From a league-wide perspective, Giddey is in the 94th percentile in assist points created per 75 possessions. Among NBA starters, Giddey is one of the most productive passing engines.<\/p>\n

Another strength Giddey brings to the court is his defensive versatility. His size and athleticism at 6-foot-8 help him guard multiple positions consistently. He is not an All-Defensive player by any means, but having his frame on the court makes a huge difference for the Bulls. He can switch through screens and be comfortable guarding whoever comes out with the ball.<\/p>\n

Not to mention, Giddey\u2019s size makes him an above-average rebounder. Basketball Index\u2019s Offensive and Defensive Rebounding Talent has him ranked in the 83rd and 85th percentiles. After Nikola Vucevic<\/a> (10.3), Giddey is currently second on the team with 7.1 rebounds per game. Having extra height on the floor, like Giddey, in exchange for a smaller guard, helps the Bulls compete on the boards for more scoring opportunities. They currently rank<\/a> seventh in the NBA for team rebounds and first in defensive rebounds.<\/p>\n

The Bulls Should Match Any Offer<\/h3>\n

Obviously, within logical reason, but the Bulls should prioritize Giddey’s return. As a Restricted Free Agent (RFA), Giddey is able to receive offers from other teams. This helps him and the Bulls see what his running market value is. Chicago still has first rights to Giddey and can match any offer provided.<\/p>\n

Giddey is rumored to be seeking a high-value deal. A past article from Bleacher Report<\/a> believes Giddey values himself at $30 million annually after the Toronto-Immanuel Quickley<\/a> contract. For reference, DeMar DeRozan\u2019s<\/a> largest annual salary with the Bulls was $27 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Even if Giddey\u2019s offers are in that territory, the Bulls should retain him. His play as the main facilitator is not easily recreated. A 6-foot-8 point forward is not easy to come by and has high value in the trade markets should his play not be up to par. After failing to acquire high-value returns from the DeRozan and\u00a0LaVine trades<\/a>, the Bulls cannot let Giddey walk for nothing.<\/p>\n

Photo credit: \u00a9 Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the offseason looming closer, so does NBA free agency. As players come and go, so potentially could Bulls primary ball-handler Josh Giddey. Will the Chicago front office retain the restricted free agent? Or will they part ways in favor of another candidate? Should the Bulls Retain Josh Giddey in Free Agency? After being acquired […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5464,"featured_media":124925,"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":[1608,8,62],"tags":[350,3178,4276,474,457],"class_list":["post-124533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-bulls","category-nba","tag-demar-derozan","tag-immanuel-quickley","tag-josh-giddey","tag-nikola-vucevic","tag-zach-lavine"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124533","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\/5464"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124533"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124972,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124533\/revisions\/124972"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}