'Not happy, Josh': Giddey scolded amid contract talks

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Australian restricted free agent Josh Giddey has revealed his agent was "furious" he suited up for Frankstown for a "cruisy" Monday night game in early May, 2025.

"I probably shouldn’t have done it," Giddey told former AFL star Tom Mitchell on his podcast Ball Magnet.

"Not because of the free agency status, but more the injury risk. My agent Daniel was furious — he’s in LA and texted me overnight.

"We talk every day, so it wasn’t like a big blow-up, but he definitely wasn’t happy.

"In hindsight, it wasn’t the smartest thing, but it reminded me why I love the game."

Giddey, 22, is in the middle of contract negotiations with the Chicago Bulls and other potential clubs. The Bulls have the right to match any offer Giddey is made by another club for him to stay in the Illinois capital.

"Basically, the Bulls have the right to match any contract offer I get," Giddey said.

"If they match, I stay. If not, I can go. I’m extension eligible now, at the end of my fourth year on the rookie deal.

"If I signed another four-year deal, I’d become an unrestricted free agent at the end of that."

The Australian Boomers point guard is optimistic he would sign with the Bulls but "nothing’s guaranteed in the NBA".

"You can be traded or waived at any time. Contract talks are starting, and we’ll see how it plays out," he added.

The challenge Giddey and his agent have in driving the best contract for Giddey is cap space of potential suitors and need, need for a starting point guard.

The pool is shallow, which means the Bulls are in a position to sign Giddey to a "team friendly" contract. Team friendly contracts are more often less than players would attract in a team vs team bidding war.

ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks said Giddey and the Bulls gap in contract numbers are "about the Gulf of Mexico" apart.

The only team in a position to offer him a contract is the Brooklyn Nets but it hasn't, as yet, been tabled.

ESPN’s Kevin Pelton wrote Giddey's primary negotiating tool was to play for his $11.1M (USD) qualifying offer and then become an unrestricted free agent in 2025-26, which means he can negotiate with any NBA team for the best deal. Before free agency, it was reported Giddey was looking for a $150M five-year deal.

Playing for the qualifying offer means Giddey is betting on himself: An All-Star calibre 2025-26 season to ensure his next contract is ... large.

Chicago Bulls beat writer Will Gottlieb said: "Just because he might really want to bet on himself and that’s fine, more power to him.

“I think at the end of the day if you can get him below 25 million, you’re in good shape just because 20 million dollars right now is more than anybody else can offer him and if they could get him on that, I think that’d be great. That’s probably where his value is.

"That’s where it would be a value contract for the Bulls, but if you have to go up a little bit above that it’s not going to kill them."

The free agency period opened on Monday and it appeared teams were willing to fan out cash — and they certainly did — but there are other restricted free agents that are still try to negotiate their market value without success such as Jonathan Kuminga, Cam Thomas and Quentin Grimes.

"That’s because the money that they’re looking for is just not out there, so that’s why the Bulls are in a position to squeeze him a little bit," Gottlieb said.

“You don’t have to piss him (Giddey) off and say, 'You’re getting one dollar more than the mid-level exception or else you’ve got to take your qualifying offer'.

I don’t think they necessarily need to go that hard.

"But they (The Bulls) are in a position to get him on a deal that is much lower than the offer that he wanted."

Giddey was traded by the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Chicago Bulls before the start of the 2024-25 season and it took time to find his feet. He was exceptional after the 2025 NBA All-Star break.

"It took me a while to get going," Giddey admitted.

"I came into a new situation and didn’t want to step on toes. I tried to fit in and not disrupt what the Bulls had built.

"But after the trade deadline, especially when Zach [LaVine] was traded, I started being more aggressive.

"I stopped trying to just fit in and started playing like myself again.

"Once I got that confidence and swagger back, it all started to click."