The Chicago Bulls and Josh Giddey have finally reached an agreement, with a four-year, $100 million contract extension being signed on Tuesday. Talks of an extension for Giddey have been going on all offseason, and it did take longer than expected for the two parties to reach a deal. Better late than never right? Giddey didn't end up getting the $30 million per year that he was originally seeking, but it became apparent that wasn't going to happen. And still, $25M annually isn't too shabby. Let's take a look a look at contract grades for both Giddey and the Bulls.
Josh Giddey contract grade: A-
Josh Giddey didn't get the $30 million that he was hoping for, but he still has to be feeling good about this deal. This is a good pay day for Giddey, and it comes on the heals of about two months of high-level basketball. For the majority of last season, Giddey did not play at a level that warranted a contract extension like this. However, he turned on the jets at the end of the season, and he forced the Bulls to give him a healthy raise.
Giddey only averaged 12.2 points per game before the All-Star break, but he looked like a different player down the stretch. After the All-Star break, he averaged 21.2 PPG and shot nearly 46% from three. Giddey completely changed his game, and the Bulls looked like a much better team because of it.
At the end of the last season, Giddey was an outstanding player for the Bulls. Now, it is important that he keeps this up. It is clear that his team has a lot of faith in him, and he is now getting the big bucks. Giddey needs to keep up this level of play.
All in all, this is a win for Josh Giddey. He put it all together at the end of the last year, and now he has been rewarded for it.
Bulls' Josh Giddey contract grade: B
If Giddey continues to play how he did down the stretch of last season, then this deal will pay off for the Bulls. However, this is a bit of a gamble based on how last year played out. Yes, Giddey looked great at the end of the season, but he wasn't anything special for the majority of the year. If Giddey slips back into that level productivity that we saw before the All-Star break, this contract is not going to be looking good for Chicago.
The Bulls clearly believe in Giddey, and they proved that with this contract. After all, the team looked a lot better down the stretch when Giddey was hot. Chicago went 12-7 after the All-Star break, and they finished the regular season 11-4 in their final 15 games. We haven't seen the Bulls put together many stretches like that in recent years. It didn't lead to any success in the postseason, but it was a good sign of what's to come if Giddey continues to play like that.
Josh Giddey is paid, Coby White is coming back, Matas Buzelis has developed into an elite young talent. The Bulls have some good pieces, and it all starts with getting the Giddey that we saw at the end of the last year. If he shows up, this Chicago team might end up surprising some people this season.
