In a recent live stream for Bleacher Report (video link), Jake Fischer discussed the current stalemate surrounding both the Bulls with Josh Giddey and the Warriors with Jonathan Kuminga, neither of which he expects to come to an end anytime soon. During that video, Fischer reported that there is interest, at least from the Warriors’ end, in a double sign-and-trade that could solve both problems simultaneously.
“I can report that there have been multiple teams that have reached out to Josh Giddey’s representation about having interest in [him],” Fischer says. “Golden State is one of them. Golden State would be interested, depending on how the machinations would go, in some kind of Josh Giddey-Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade, to my understanding.”
Of course, a sign-and-trade needs both sides to be interested, and Fischer notes that doesn’t appear to be the case at the moment. “The Bulls have been telling teams… that they don’t want to talk sign-and-trade,” he says.
According to Fischer, Chicago does have a longstanding interest in Kuminga, though it’s unclear to what extent. While the Bulls haven’t made an “aggressive pursuit” of Kuminga to this point, they remain on the periphery of the situation.
“They made outreach to Golden State early in the offseason about Kuminga, they’ve talked about Kuminga in various trade conversations with the Warriors in the past when Golden State was checking in on Zach LaVine and Alex Caruso and other things,” Fischer says.
A double sign-and-trade is a difficult maneuver to pull off, as the rules regarding base year compensation mean that the salaries going out would only count for 50% of their annual average value to the team trading them, but would count fully for the team receiving the player. Since that would apply to both the Bulls and Warriors in such a deal, any double sign-and-trade would likely necessitate a third team getting involved.
Fischer says that during the 2021 draft, the Warriors were prepared to take Giddey if Kuminga were selected ahead of their pick, and that they have maintained their interest in the 6’8″ guard. He also says that the Warriors have attempted to negotiate with this Bulls regime before, citing the 2023 deadline, when the Warriors reportedly made multiple first-round picks available in a potential deal for Alex Caruso.
He adds that rival teams feel that the Bulls are not generally forthcoming in trade negotiations, at times to the point of inscrutability.
“Other teams don’t want to talk that business with Chicago, and they know Chicago doesn’t really want to make sign-and-trade scenarios come to fruition for Josh Giddey after turning Caruso into Giddey directly with no other draft capital coming back.”
However, even if no deal is reached, Fischer says that might not end the idea of Kuminga in Chicago.
“There still is some hope from Kuminga’s side that the Bulls could factor into his situation right now, and there is also some hope to my understanding from Kuminga’s side that if he were to take the qualifying offer and reach unrestricted free agency next year, the Bulls… are going to be major players with cap space,” Fischer says.