While teams have been stacking up trades during the offseason, most of the headlines surrounding the Chicago Bulls have been centered around star guard Josh Giddey. The 6-foot-8 guard was one of the few bright spots from the Bulls’ terrible regular season campaign that saw them bow out of the play-in tournament against the Miami Heat. Despite that, he remains a restricted free agent with neither side able to come to an agreement weeks into the offseason. The worst news is that this stalemate doesn’t seem to end anytime soon.

Wondering why the Bulls won’t dish out an offer to their best player from last season? A major reason, according to a survey held by The Athletic, is that fact that NBA teams are scared of commitment. Yes, teams around the league don’t want to commit to a player for the long term because of the aprons and new CBA rules. To put it simply, they prefer to be flexible. The survey revealed exactly that, as a few executives offered outrageous deals for the 22-year-old floor general.

Any guesses what offers were made for a player who, at one point during the last season, was touching insane numbers? The survey, which consisted of sixteen participants, the majority, fourteen to be precise, were willing to offer Giddey a handsome average salary between $20 to $25 million. Fair enough. However, not everyone viewed the Bulls player in a similar light, as one executive made a mind-boggling offer.

An NBA executive, who apparently isn’t a big fan of Giddey’s game, stated during the survey that he’d offer the Bulls star a four-year $50 million contract. That’s $12.5 million against an expected average $22.3 million a year for a guard who averaged 14.6 points, along with 8.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists is way too conservative. Not to mention, his insane 19-game stretch toward the end of the season when he was close to a 20-point triple-double every other game. It’s a blessing that this executive isn’t from Giddey’s franchise; otherwise, the guard would’ve preferred turning into a free agent after the 2025-26 season.

While you shouldn’t be too riled up by this disappointing offer by the anonymous NBA executive, discussions between the Bulls and Giddey also don’t seem to be going smoothly.

The Chicago Bulls and Josh Giddey have a 33 % disagreement

Whether you believe it or not, despite being more than three weeks into the free agency and offering their head coach, Billy Donovan, an extension, the Chicago Bulls are nowhere near when it comes to striking a deal with Josh Giddey. You might’ve heard that at the start of the offseason, the 22-year-old guard wanted a deal that pays him around $30 million a year. We’d agree to the fact that this might be too much to ask, but it seems that the Bulls aren’t willing to offer anything even remotely close.

Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times revealed that the two sides have been engaged in a cold war sort of situation at the moment. “As a member of the Bulls’ organization recently pointed out in a text, ‘It’s a negotiation,’” Cowley reported. “That’s why the Bulls and guard Josh Giddey are in a stalemate in contract-extension talks. The sides have remained active in discussions throughout the offseason. More important, there’s still a lot of time to get a deal done.” The reason for this stalemate? A massive 33% disagreement over salaries.

There’s no doubt that Josh Giddey wants to stay in the Windy City, and similarly, the Chicago Bulls want a centerpiece. However, both parties are unable to find common ground when it comes to deciding the salary. According to Cowley, Chicago and Giddey are around $8 to $10 million per year apart. That’s around a third of the contract the star guard is hoping for. This should be concerning for the Bulls’ front office, as Giddey could just accept the $11.1 million qualifying offer and leave as an unrestricted free agent next summer.

So, they should act quickly and make him an offer that’s close to what the 22-year-old is expecting, or lose him for free next season. What will the Bulls choose? We’ll have to wait and watch.