Bulls executive vice president Artūras Karnišovas has told reporters he feels “really good” about Josh Giddey’s future with the franchise as the Australian reflected on his first season in Chicago.
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Giddey, who scored 25 points on Thursday as the Bulls’ season came to an end in a play-in tournament loss to the Miami Heat, is a restricted free agent this summer.
The 22-year-old is expected to earn a substantial contract extension considering his impressive end to the season, with veteran NBA reporter Brian Windhorst tipping he could re-sign with Chicago on a deal worth around $30 million (A$47 million) per year.
Giddey averaged 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game after the All-Star break, with Karnišovas telling media the Australian “found a completely new gear” having initially tried “to fit in” at the start of the season.
Giddey said as much during his media availability after the loss to the Heat, pointing to the Zach LaVine trade as a critical turning point in allowing him to play his natural game.
“The first half of the year it’s a new situation, so naturally there’s going to be an inclination to come in here and try to fit in,” Giddey said.
“That was my initial mindset. I never wanted to come in and try, not ruffle feathers, but change the whole dynamic of the way guys played and the way the team played.
“But I think it took me a little while to find my feet, and obviously, trade deadline happened when Zach got moved, and he was obviously such a big part to what we did here.
“It kind of opened up avenues for other guys to step into. I saw that as an opportunity to take on a bigger responsibility on both sides of the ball.”
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The result, Giddey explained, was a “completely different player” to the one that struggled in the early stages of the season.
“I’d say the second half of the year player is who I am,” Giddey said.
“The first half was just a completely different guy. Confidence was probably down. Aggression levels were probably down. Trying to fit in too much.
“So the second half of the year player is who I am, it’s who I’ve been, and it just took me a little while to get back to that.”
While Giddey was definitely more confident and assertive running the offence, he also saw considerable improvement in his effort areas on defence.
The Australian was benched at one point during a particularly poor game against Cleveland, which Giddey pinpointed as an early wake-up call which forced him to take more pride on the defensive side of the ball.
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“I think from the start to where we are now I think I’ve taken a leap in that area and I think the start of the year it wasn’t even close to where I wanted to be and it’s always been an area of emphasis me that I wanted to improve on,” Giddey said.
“I’m not delusional. I’m never going to be an elite lockdown defender but it’s just about effort and trying and wanting to do it on that side of the ball.
“I think that changed probably, I still remember very clearly the Cleveland game we had in Cleveland the first time and how upset I was after that game (with) the effort I put in (on) that side of the ball and from that point on I tried to make an emphasis that nothing like that was going to happen again.
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“It’s not going to be perfect. You’re going to get blown by, you’re going to miss blockouts and rotations. But it’s a matter of effort and wanting to do it every possession down the floor, so I made a conscious decision to do that and as I said it wasn’t always perfect and I thought our defence, not just mine, but as a team we really picked it up the back-half of the year and a lot of it was just will and wanting to do it so that’s an area I want to continue to get better at.”
It sounds like Giddey will have an opportunity to improve that side of his game in Chicago, with Karnišovas telling reporters that he “hopes to see him here for the next years to come”.
“I think he fits really well here,” Karnišovas added of Giddey.
Giddey, meanwhile, said he hadn’t “thought too much” about his next contract beyond “where and when” it will get done.