A well-compensated Chicago Bulls star has broken his silence regarding the club’s relatively successful end-of-season “hot streak” that… resulted in yet another doomed play-in tournament berth, the third straight such postseason outcome for Chicago.
The Bulls have made the playoffs exactly once since trading away future Hall of Fame swingman Jimmy Butler in 2017.
Fresh off agreeing to a $100 million contract in restricted free agency, Chicago point guard Josh Giddey reflected on the Bulls run.
Chicago’s Late-Season Resurgence
After the Bulls traded away former two-time All-Star shooting guard Zach LaVine, Giddey’s output took off. Chicago dropped its first six straight games following the deal, but things stabilized after that.
A pace-and-space, movement-oriented attack soon emerged under head coach Billy Donovan. The Bulls went 17-9 across their final 26 contests, wrapping up with a middling 39-43 record and the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Giddey was available for 17 of those bouts, averaging 20.6 points while slashing .496/.429/.790, plus 10.6 rebounds, 9.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.8 blocks per.
Per Olgun Uluc of ESPN, Giddey himself is hopeful that the Bulls’ exciting final few months were not an anomaly.
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“You don’t ever want it to be a two-month, three-month hot stretch… you want it to be a regular occurrence. I’ve had a great offseason, so [I’m] excited to get back there and get into it.”
In 70 games total during his inaugural Bulls season, the 6-foot-8 pro averaged 14.6 points on .465/.378/.781 shooting splits, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists.
It took nearly three months for Giddey and Chicago to agree to a deal this summer. He had reportedly been seeking a contract that would pay him in the range of $30 million annually, while the Bulls front office was angling for a $20 million yearly deal. The two sides settled at $25 million per.
“Any time you’re a free agent, that kind of looms over you for a while,” Giddey admitted. “Even during the season, you know at the end of it that you’re extension-eligible… it hangs over your head, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it.
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“The fact it’s done now, I can move forward; the next four years, I’m locked in with the Bulls,” Giddey said. “Super excited, love the city, they embraced me quickly, my teammates are awesome, the building, front office, coaches, everyone’s been awesome. Very, very happy in Chicago, and excited to be there another four years.”
Giddey proceeded to rave about the Bulls’ last two lottery picks: All-Rookie forward Matas Buzelis, the No. 11 selection in 2024, and this summer’s No. 12 pick, forward Noa Essengue.
“There’s a lot of younger guys now, with Matas [Buzelis], obviously Noa [Essengue] coming through. I’m excited to be able to grow with the group we have, and build off our second half of last year.”
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