Giddey and Young could score plenty, stop nobody

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Australian Josh Giddey’s Chicago Bulls have a decision to make – go now or continue to rebuild via the NBA Draft.

Former Australian Boomers Dyson Daniels’ backcourt running mate, Trae Young, in Atlanta, has declined his USD $49M player option with the Washington Wizards, ramping up speculation about “go now”.

Giddey is 23, and Young is in his prime at 27.

But the Bulls’ new head coach, Tiago Splitter, also has rebuild options with Chicago owning the fourth and 15th picks in next week’s 2026 NBA Draft.

Mock drafts have the Bulls selecting North Carolina Tar Heel freshman power forward Caleb Wilson at four and Washington power forward Hannes Steinbach at 15. The Bulls' front court appears to be the priority.

“Now, the logical reaction to this potential pairing is to wonder how Young would coexist with Josh Giddey,” Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey wrote.

“Both have typically needed the ball in their hands to be successful. Neither has shown enough as an off-ball catch-and-shoot threat to have much confidence in them shifting to that role.

“But Giddey, at 6'7", is certainly big enough to slide over on defence. And a creative offensive system could give both playmakers more opportunities to attack defences initially scrambled by the other.

“The fit would take a little time to figure out, but there's no doubt Young would represent a raw talent upgrade. And following the implementation of Adam Silver's new anti-tanking measures, it wouldn't be surprising to see more bad or mediocre teams taking swings on raw talent.”

Before analysing the on-court fit, is it even possible for the Bulls to sign Young?

Short answer #1: Yes, Chicago can sign Young to a max deal – but only if they aggressively clear cap holds and build the roster around him and Giddey.

Short answer #2: Yes, with a sign-and-trade, which may be easier, but the Bulls would need to send salaries to the Wizards.

Long Answer #1: The Bulls can free up $52.88M in cap space if they renounce all cap hold salaries and lose players with the bigger salaries of Anfernee Simons ($41.5M), Collin Sexton ($28.8M) and Zach Collins ($27.1M).

Long Answer #2: The Bulls could do a sign-and-trade with Washington, but there are three major hurdles.

1. Chicago would be hard-capped

Under the CBA, a team acquiring a player via sign-and-trade is hard-capped at the first apron.

• First apron: $209M
• Bulls' allocations: $239M

But the $239M includes $144M of cap holds. If Chicago renounces most of those holds, it could easily get under the apron.

2. Chicago must send salary back

If Trae signs for roughly $50-55M, Chicago would probably have to send out something like:

Option A

• Patrick Williams ($18M)
• Isaac Okoro ($11.8M)
• Jalen Smith ($9.4M)
• Tre Jones ($8M)
• Draft picks

Option B

• Patrick Williams
• Rob Dillingham
• Leonard Miller
• Picks

Washington would almost certainly want:

• Rob Dillingham
• Matas Buzelis or
• Multiple first-round picks

Is a sign-and-trade more realistic than cap space?

Probably yes.

Because Chicago can:

• Keep more of its roster,
• Stay under the first apron,
• Pay Trae the full max,
• Avoid renouncing every free-agent hold.

The likely framework would be:

Bulls receive

• Trae Young (new max contract)

Wizards receive

• Patrick Williams
• Rob Dillingham
• Salary filler (Okoro/Jalen Smith)
• One or two first-round picks

That lets Chicago keep:

• Josh Giddey
• Trae Young
• Matas Buzelis
• Noa Essengue
• Leonard Miller

A sign-and-trade is absolutely possible and may be the Bulls' preferred route – but it depends entirely on Washington agreeing to help Trae get to Chicago rather than losing him for nothing.

If the deal is done, how would Giddey and Young co-exist?

As my mum taught me, honesty is always the best policy – Giddey and Young would form one of the worst defensive backcourts in the NBA.

Giddey’s defensive rating is not terrible at 116.4, but Young’s is an abysmal 119.6. To put that into perspective, the NBA’s best perimeter defender, Dyson Daniels, is 112.3 and a primary reason why the Hawks were surviving – not thriving – when Young was on the roster.

There is nowhere to hide, Trae. At 1.85m, Young has been targeted in Atlanta for years. In the playoffs, opponents drag him into every action:

• Guard-to-guard screens
• Spain pick-and-rolls
• Empty-corner actions

If Giddey is next to him, Chicago can't simply put the Boomer point guard on the toughest perimeter scorer because:

• He isn't an elite stopper.
• He struggles to contain explosive guards.
• Teams will force switches until Young ends up defending anyway.

Neither player is a point-of-attack defender. Championship teams almost always have one of:

• Jrue Holiday
• Derrick White
• Alex Caruso
• Lu Dort
• Jalen Williams

Someone who destroys actions before they begin.

Young and Giddey are the opposite:

• Young dies on screens.
• Giddey can be beaten off the dribble.
• Opponents get into the paint too easily.

Worst of all, the Defensive Ratings actually understate the problem.

The DRTGs:

• Young: 119.6
• Giddey: 116.4
• Daniels: 112.3

Looks close, right, but ...

Daniels:

• Guards the best player.
• Creates turnovers.
• Leads the league in steals.
• Makes teammates better defensively.

Young:

• Is protected by schemes.
• Avoids the toughest assignments.
• Is still attacked relentlessly.

Giddey:

• Improved in Chicago.
• Uses size well.
• But he's not a player who erases mistakes.

Put Young and Giddey together, and you're pairing: A defender you must protect with a defender who can't do all the protecting.

On the offensive side of the ball, Giddey and Young are in the NBA’s top 5.

• Two elite passers
• Two high-usage creators
• Two excellent rebounders for guards
• Constant transition opportunities
• A nightmare to guard offensively

Their ORTGs are fantastic:

• Trae career: 115.3
• Giddey this season: 112.6

But they both require the ball in their hands to be effective. How they could and would co-exist and still deliver on their elite offensive numbers will take time – maybe too much time.

That's why the pairing is so polarising. The offence could be spectacular. The defence could be a bloodbath.