The Chicago Bulls haven’t been terribly active all offseason. They swapped Lonzo Ball for Isaac Okoro, made their two draft selections, and re-signed Tre Jones. A Josh Giddey extension is probably on the way, but he remains a restricted free agent as of now.
The quiet could be the calm before the storm. The Bulls have been linked to another star restricted free agent for a long time, and there’s a decent chance the two sides finally come up with something. At least one NBA insider thinks they will.
Chicago Bulls predicted to swing deal for Jonathan Kuminga
The Golden State Warriors wanted to re-sign Jonathan Kuminga, but a diminished role as well as the arrival and then extension of Jimmy Butler made that a difficult future to foresee. Even now, there’s been very little traction on that front.
The Chicago Bulls were pegged as a possible sign-and-trade landing spot, and that theory has reared its head once more. Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus said Kuminga was the third-best FA left and that he’s probably headed to the Windy City.
“If the 22-year-old can find a team willing to give what he’s seeking, or close to what Golden State was willing to do last year, he’ll need an offer sheet as a restricted free agent,” Pincus said. “Another path is a sign-and-trade, but that’s complicated by multiple rules and the Warriors’ potential reluctance to spend under the new rules.”
Pincus’ final prediction was that “the Warriors find a sign-and-trade, perhaps with a team like the Chicago Bulls.” It is unclear what the Bulls would have to give up. Salary matching might be tough, and it’s fair to assume that they don’t want to sign-and-trade Josh Giddey, since they want to keep him.
Perhaps they can attach some future capital to Patrick Williams (and others to meet whatever salary Kuminga signs for, because it will be more than Williams’ $18 million), and convince the Warriors to take on that contract in order to get off of Kuminga.
Josh Giddey sent Chicago Bulls a $150 million message: Report
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