The Chicago Bulls are sitting pretty right now, financially speaking. They may be coming off another middling season without even a play-in win to show for it and have a poor draft slot, but they have financial flexibility to do a lot of things this summer, so much so that one NBA insider is pretty excited about what they’re facing.
Bulls’ cap space earns praise from NBA analyst
The word Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus used to describe Chicago’s cap space was “powerful.” Their cap space flexibility itself is medium-low, but that’s not the only aspect to factor in this offseason. Their tax flexibility and apron flexibility are both high, which is excellent. Their first-round power is medium-high, and their second-round power is medium.
With a Josh Giddey extension likely, Pincus thinks that will be one of just two eight-figure contracts on the books. “The Bulls are at a pivot point with a clean set of books. They can re-sign Josh Giddey to a contract in the $30 million range without hitting the luxury tax. After this coming season, Patrick Williams is their only player with an eight-figure salary ($18 million),” he said.
He expects Chicago to wait to extend Coby White, fully admitting that he’s a flight risk that will probably sign elsewhere or even be traded before then. “Assuming the Bulls intend to build around White and Giddey, does that include extending Nikola Vučević, or sending him out and finding a way to a younger big man? Whatever the answer, Chicago is in a powerful position moving forward. This offseason is a crucial time to make the right decisions,” Pincus concluded.
The Bulls can move on from Giddey, but even signing him to a lucrative and perhaps unwarranted deal won’t sink them at all. White provides a little bit more of a conundrum, but again, he’s not likely to sink the ship with a new deal, either.
The real question is what to do with Vučević, who is a likely trade candidate. If and when that happens, that will clear up even more space for Chicago to work with, so they’re in a pretty good spot right now. They just need to continue trying to find the right pieces, but they’ve got the money and decent draft capital to do so.
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