Josh Giddey knows he’s pumped up his value with his strong play this season. The Bulls guard will enter restricted free agency this summer and admitted to the Chicago Sun Times’ Joe Cowley that he’s wondering how it will play out.
‘‘I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about it,’’ Giddey said. ‘‘Every player in the league thinks about it, but I don’t let it impact what I do on the floor. I don’t come out here with any preconceived ideas of how I want to play or the numbers I want to put up to earn X amount of dollars or whatever it may be.’’
The Bulls were unable to come to a rookie scale extension agreement with Giddey after acquiring him from the Thunder last offseason. Giddey and his representatives indicated at that time they were looking to match Magic guard Jalen Suggs’ extension of $30MM per year for five years, Cowley reports. The Bulls will have the ability to match if Giddey signs an offer sheet this summer.
We have more on the Bulls:
- One of the things Giddey has improved upon is his long-range shooting, Cowley notes. He’s made 37% of his 3-point attempts, up from 33.7% in his last season with Oklahoma City. He made all three of his attempts in the blowout victory over Philadelphia on Monday, improving his percentage to a whopping 52.2 this month. “Obviously, you feel good when shots start falling, and it can have a snowball effect. That’s where I’m probably at right now,” he said.
- Starting center Nikola Vucevic is listed as doubtful to play against the Clippers on Wednesday due to right calf tightness, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network tweets. Guard Ayo Dosunmu is questionable due to a left shoulder subluxation.
- Lonzo Ball was not listed on the injury report. That was a positive development, considering he departed Monday’s game early due to a head laceration, the team tweets.