Josh Giddey's Contract, Coby White's Future, and the Bulls 2026 Cap Space Plans
I review Josh Giddey's new contract with the Bulls. I also look at where it leaves the Bulls 2026 cap space projection and how Coby White factors into it.
Another restricted free agent is off the board with Josh Giddey re-signing with the Chicago Bulls. According to Shams Charania, he will return on a four-year, $100 million contract that is fully guaranteed with no options. This leaves the Bulls roughly $13-14 million below the luxury tax with a full 15-man roster.
This concludes a stalemate dating back to last offseason after the Bulls acquired Giddey. Both sides couldn’t come to an extension agreement ahead of the 2024-25 season when he was seeking $30 million annually. The Bulls reportedly offered him $20 million annually at the start of the 2025 offseason, according to Jake Fischer. Both sides maintained their stances and ultimately met exactly in the middle.
If you’re a Giddey skeptic, you might be inclined to feel that this deal is favorable to him. An average annual salary of 14 percent of the salary cap seems fair for a starter. But he needs the ball in his hands to be effective and is a defensive liability. He significantly improved his shooting last year, but time will tell if that jump is sustainable.
He will certainly deliver in the regular season. What will determine if that’s a positive value contract around the league is if he can improve on his limitations and have an impact in the playoffs. Otherwise, that contract might fall in the RJ Barrett/CJ McCollum lack-of-interest realm around the league. The Bulls may struggle to make the playoffs despite a severely weakened East, anyway.
Putting aside whether he is or isn’t worth the money, Giddey landing this contract is great negotiation by his end, given the circumstances. Restricted free agency naturally tilts the playing field against players. There were no teams with cap space able to sign Giddey to above the mid-level exception, except the Nets. They probably would’ve made him an offer sheet if they were interested in him.
The Bulls went from offering Giddey $20 million annually, then $22 million annually, according to Bobby Marks, and then $25 million annually in such a short amount of time. It feels like a strange process by the Bulls to surrender their leverage so quickly, with almost a month left until his $11.1 million qualifying offer expires.