The Detroit Pistons will be carefully monitoring the Josh Giddey situation in Chicago, as it may give them a preview of what they will face next offseason with Jaden Ivey.
The Bulls and Giddey are at a standstill after the Bulls reportedly offered the lead guard a 4 year/$80 million deal that he turned down. The Bulls upped that offer to $88 million, according to Marc Stein (Subscription) but that was still nowhere near the $120 million Giddey is reportedly seeking.
I’ve written about how restricted free agency has become too restricted, as teams are reluctant to offer big second contracts to non-superstars under the new CBA. With so few teams carrying cap space, it has led to the teams having all of the leverage and little action in the form of offer sheets coming to restricted free agents.
With no competition, teams can play hardball and force these players to either accept shorter deals, take less money or accept the qualifying offer as Cam Thomas recently did. It’s a risky move, but players gain back control if they accept the qualifying offer, get a no-trade clause and become unrestricted free agents after the season.
The Bulls aren’t to that point yet with Giddey, but it might get there if the two sides can’t bridge the giant gap between what Chicago has offered and what Giddey wants.
The Pistons are hoping Giddey accepts the lowest possible offer, as it will help them in their negotiations with Jaden Ivey.
Jaden Ivey vs. Josh Giddey: The Pistons could have huge leverage
Giddey took a lot of flak for his inability to shoot in the playoff, which is likely one of the reasons OKC shipped him out.
But Giddey might be slightly underrated at this point, as he put up monster all-around numbers last season, scoring 14.6 points per game with 8.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists while shooting 47 percent from the floor and 38 percent from 3-point range on four attempts per game.
We’re talking about a lead, playmaking guard who rebounds and scores at a fairly efficient clip.
Jaden Ivey was slightly more efficient from 3-point range but wasn’t as accurate as Giddey inside the arc and doesn’t put up the assist or rebounding numbers Giddey does. Of course, Ivey plays with Cade Cunningham, so he’s not going to get as many opportunities, but if we are looking just at raw numbers, Giddey has been the more impactful player.
If he accepts a deal somewhere in the $80 million range (I don’t think he will or should), then the Pistons can point to that in their negotiations with Ivey. Ivey’s agents are likely to point to Immanuel Quickley, but the Pistons can’t go down the road with Ivey.
Ivey and Giddey are very different players, but they are in a similar tier, so Giddey’s contract will help set the market for Ivey next summer.