Will the Chicago Bulls take a significant risk on a young swingman prior to the start of the 2025-26 season?
The Bulls’ front office can at times be inscrutable with some of the contracts it hands out, especially when it comes to the players it has drafted or otherwise acquired before their second contracts.
Last year, in a deal that became an instant disaster, Chicago team president Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley decided to sign then-impending restricted free agent combo forward Patrick Williams to a whopper of a five-year, $90 million deal.
Buyer’s remorse impacting Chicago’s approach?
The Williams agreement is such an eyesore that seems to have had a ripple effect on how Chicago is approaching the restricted free agency of a much better player, point guard Josh Giddey.
Giddey, a streaky 3-point shooter and lackluster defender, wants an exorbitant deal that will pay him in the range of $30 million annually, while Chicago is hoping to settle closer to $20 million a year. With no teams able to sign Giddey to the kind of money he desires, the Bulls appear to have all the leverage.
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Chicago also has another young cog that it may consider paying this summer.
The Bulls used the No. 17 pick in the 2022 draft on Arizona small forward Dalen Terry, who like Williams (plus fellow Bulls wings Julian Phillips, Noah Essengue, and Isaac Okoro) is raw and limited offensively but possesses the tools to be a solid wing defender.
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Terry was selected ahead of future NBA Finals starter Andrew Nembhard (the No. 31 pick out of Gonzaga), champion Denver Nuggets shooting guard Christian Braun (No. 21 out of Kansas), 3-and-D swingman Max Christie (No. 35), and rim protecting big man Walker Kessler (No. 22 out of Auburn).
So far, Terry hasn’t shown Chicago enough to justify an extension. After being essentially a part-time player during his first two seasons and looking so unpolished his NBA future seemed shaky, Terry became a true part of head coach Billy Donovan’s rotation last year. He averaged 4.5 points on a decent .448/.356/.710 slash line, 1.7 boards, 1.3 assists and 0.6 steals in 73 games (five starts).
Those numbers might not be much to write home about, but they represent a marked improvement, and he has cut down significantly on the kinds of mistakes that limited his time during his initial pro seasons in the Windy City.
Chicago has until Oct. 20 to extend the 6-foot-7 swingman. It seems all but assured that the team will let him prove his worth by playing out the season, and then decide his fate in restricted free agency next summer.
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