Bulls Compromise On Reported New Contract Offer For Giddey

Josh Giddey‘s restricted free agency continues to hang over the Chicago Bulls. The playmaking guard has spent all summer holding out for a deal in the region of $30 million per year.

According to ClutchPoint’s Brett Seigel, the Bulls, who have been locked in at $20 million per year all summer, have now extended a new contract offer to their star guard. Seigel reports the new offer is in the $85 million to $90 million range. Therefore, it is a fair compromise between the two parties.

“Although they held firm on their offer of around $20 million per season, the Bulls have recently increased their proposed contract to try and end this stalemate,” Siegel reported. “Chicago has presented Giddey and his representation with a four-year contract in the ballpark of $85 million to $90 million, league sources said.”

Seigel continued.

“This is likely the last contract proposal the Bulls will offer this offseason, as it’s essentially a compromise from what both sides wanted. Whereas the Bulls entered the summer wanting to keep Giddey on a deal around $20 million per season, he wanted to be paid close to $30 million per year.”

Assuming the offer is at $90 million over four years, that would see Giddey earning $22.5 million per season. That is only a slight increase from Chicago’s original reported offer of $20 million per season.

Giddey Could Sign His Qualifying Offer

If Giddey isn’t pleased with the Bulls reported new offer, then the only option he has left is to sign his $11.1 million qualifying offer. Making that decision would allow him to hit unrestricted free agency next summer.

However, there has been very little interest in his services this summer. As such, he would be running the risk of turning down good and guaranteed money to bet on himself heading into a contract year.

Chicago clearly wants to keep Giddey around long-term. Therefore, if he did sign his qualifying offer, the Bulls would likely remain in the race to keep him next season. However, they would undoubtedly like to avoid that situation by inking him to a new deal ahead of the new season.

Bulls Still Expected To Reach Deal With Giddey

During a recent edition of ‘The Fast Break,‘ Bulls Insider K.C. Johnson explained why the Bulls are still expected to reach an agreement with Giddey.

“The Bulls traded Alex Caruso to acquire Josh Giddey,” Johnson said. “They liked the way Josh Giddey played basketball for them. They’re just putting a price tag that is indicative of his market on the table. They want Josh Giddey in a Bulls uniform long term. So I still see this reaching a positive conclusion.”

With training camp and preseason on the horizion, Giddey and the Bulls must reach an agreement, one way or another. Of course, the hope is that he sticks with the Bulls long-term. However, nothing is guaranteed until he puts pen to paper.

No matter what happens, Giddey will be with the Bulls for the upcoming season. Nevertheless, he’s seen as a key part of the overall rebuild. Therefore, seeing him sign his qualifying offer would be a disaster.

Chicago will undoubtedly hope it’s done enough to avoid that scenario. We won’t need to wait too much longer to see whether that’s true.

Bears’ Caleb Williams Keeps Ben Johnson Up at Night for One Reason, Per Coach

This season for the Chicago Bears is arguably more important than one that they’ve had in a very long time. With Ben Johnson as the head coach, Caleb Williams is expected to take a year two leap, and with many other factors, the Bears have to start winning some games.

The fan base is dying for success, a competent quarterback, and a good head coach. On paper, the Bears have all that, but there are still questions about whether they’ll get the job done. 

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Bears Need Caleb Williams to Succeed

For the Chicago Bears, a significant portion of their success likely hinges on what Williams looks like. If he’s the player that many were expecting him to be coming out of college, they might have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. 

If he looks like he did as a rookie at times, there will be struggles. To say that there won’t be struggles is unfair, given how young he is, but Williams has to take a step up. 

According to Sports Illustrated’s Gene Chamberlain, it appears that Johnson has confidence in Williams being able to do that. However, other factors are also affecting Johnson’s feelings about Williams. It isn’t about his talent, but he spoke about what keeps him up at night, regarding Williams having to figure things out. 

“It’s not just the trust of whether he can do a certain job, it’s sharing the wealth,” Johnson said. “That’s what keeps me up at night, is trying to make sure that all of our horses are fed. Because these guys, I mean, they’re super talented players and we just need to get them a little space and the ball in their hands and they can make big things happen.

“And so I’ve been pretty transparent to them in the spring and so far in camp that if you’re active on game day, we’re going to have a role for you. We’ll have some jobs for you. And then how big that is really dictated on how well you practice and really your track record going up into the week.”

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Can Caleb Williams Get the Most Out of His Weapons?

It sure sounds like Williams is ready to get everybody involved for the Chicago Bears, and with multiple above-average weapons, that should be the case. 

With an improved offensive line, too, which is the biggest thing in this scenario, the Bears should truly be fine.

When speaking to reporters, including the Chicago Sun-Times, Williams noted that he loves everything that Johnson has done with him so far. He added that he’s been great for him, has pushed him, and has been everything he can ask for in a coach.

“Knowledge of football has grown even just sitting in some of the meetings this year… and just understanding things I may not have understood last year,” Williams said Wednesday. “Whether it’s just scheme in offense or defense, I’ve taken a step there. I have to keep taking those steps throughout this year and many years from now.

“Ben been great for me. He has pushed me. He’s a teacher and he will be persistent until you get it.”

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