Getty Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan.
The Chicago Bulls are entering a pivotal season and Josh Giddey will be a key figure.
They have parted ways with Alex Caruso and DeMar DeRozan, two of the team’s figureheads since 2021-22, during the 2024 offseason. And their most significant acquisition from those deals, Giddey, comes with plenty of question marks.
A former No. 6 overall pick of the 2021 draft, Giddey was a star for his native Australia during their 2024 Paris Summer Olympics run.
The run ended in a quarterfinal loss to Serbia. But Giddey’s NBA breakout may be coming.
“Maybe this is more of a fantasy basketball angle than anything else, but Josh Giddey is positioned to put up staggering numbers with the Chicago Bulls,” Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes wrote on August 6. “Whether they’re right to think so or not, the Bulls clearly view Giddey as a foundational piece.
“Considering his elevation in the pecking order, natural growth trajectory and opportunity to pile up stats as a primary facilitator, Giddey’s per-36 averages from last year—17.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and 7.2 assists—might best be viewed as his floor for next season.”
I asked Will Magnay about the progression of Josh Giddey and how he has handled the responsibility of running the offence.
“Mum asked me how old he was…I said think he’s 21. She said, I couldn’t imagine you playing in the Olympics at 21…I was like oh, thanks mum…” 😂😂
Giddey led the Boomers averaging 17.5 points and 6.0 assists while finishing second with 7.8 rebounds per game. He figures to stuff the stat sheet in a similar fashion for the Bulls.
He also shot 47.5% on 4.7 three-point attempts per game.
Giddey is a 31% shooter from beyond the arc in his career and connected on a career-high 33.7% of his deep looks in 2023-24. He shot 34.4% on catch-and-shoot threes during the regular season and 36.7% on those looks during the playoffs, per NBA.com.
Giddey is also in the final year of his four-year, $27.2 million rookie contract with restricted free agency on the horizon.
Josh Giddey Emotional After Olympic Loss
This was Giddey’s first Olympic appearance and the 95-90 loss to Serbia came down to the final moments of overtime.
Giddey was on the wrong end of several plays late. The Bulls guard was emotional afterward.
“We were so close and we had so many chances,” Giddey told 9News Australia’s Alison Piotrowski on August 6. “When you have the guys on this team that we do, you believe you have the ability to go all the way, and we believed that with this group. We put ourselves in a great position to win that game and we came up short like that in overtime. So it’s heartbreaking and it kills me that I have to wait four more years for another chance at this. But, man, I’m so proud of this group. I love this team. And our coaches, our fans deserve a lot better than this.
“Every possession matters, and it can go so quick. We play four games and that’s it. You gotta wait four years. I don’t really know how to sum it up now. It’s so raw and soon after the game. But I love this team and believed we had the group to go all the way. We’ve gotta wait another four years. This feeling sucks, and it’s gonna hurt. But it’s gonna build us and we’ll be back in LA.”
“This feeling sucks” – Josh Giddey on Australia’s exit overnight from the @Olympics
@BasketballAus we look forward to your timely announcement regarding parting ways with Coach Goojian.
With Australia clinging to a one-point lead and 1:19 to go in the overtime period, Giddey lost sight of his assignment on defense, Ognjen Dobric, while trying to keep an eye on Nikola Jokic. Jokic received a pass from cutting Dobric, sinking a baby hook to take a 91-90 lead.
Later, Giddey committed a turnover while trailing by three points with 24 seconds to go. He also missed a pair of layups down the stretch. It was an anticlimactic ending for the Bulls guard.
Giddey had 25 points, four rebounds, and four assists with seven turnovers in the game.
Insider: Bulls View Josh Giddey as ‘Lonzo Ball-Light’
The Bulls acquired Giddey from the Oklahoma City Thunder for Alex Caruso with the intention of him being their starting point guard. They remain “all in” on him in that capacity according to the Chicago Sun-Time’s Joe Cowley.
“They view him as Lonzo Ball-light — a point guard with positional height to not only rebound, but attack the opposing defense with his ability to get the ball quickly up the floor by keeping his own dribble or uncanny outlet passing,” Cowley wrote on August 7.
“Some of that was on display at the Olympics with Bulls front office eyes in Paris to watch him.”
Ball has progressed to playing 5-on-5 basketball as he planned, but Cowley notes he will likely be in a reserve role and most certainly on a minutes restriction if he completes his comeback.
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Bulls’ $27 Million Offseason Pickup Primed to Post ‘Staggering Numbers’