The Chicago Bulls and the Golden State Warriors are in eerily similar situations. Their respective trajectories are admittedly dissimilar, but both franchises are in the midst of contract negotiations with restricted free agents that have taken far longer than anyone expected them to.
There's an ideal world in which Chicago and Golden State resolve one another's dilemma, but it will require creative solutions on both ends of the equation.
Giddey and Kuminga are two of the more promising young players in the NBA, but their contract demands are beyond what their respective franchises are willing to pay. That's inevitably created interest for both around the NBA, with the Warriors valuing Giddey
According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, the Warriors have genuine interest in acquiring Giddey—and have had their eye on him since the 2021 NBA Draft.
"But Golden State's interest in Giddey is genuine. The Warriors were prepared to select Giddey with the seventh overall pick in the 2021 draft, sources say, only for Oklahoma City to chose Giddey and steer the Warriors toward selecting Kuminga at No. 7 overall."
Thankfully, there appears to be a way for Chicago and Golden State to take positive steps forward: A swap of Giddey for Kuminga.
Josh Giddey for Jonathan Kuminga would resolve Bulls', Warriors' issues
Giddey fits Golden State's needs remarkably well as a two-way player who can create for others, crash the boards, and defend at a respectable level. In 2024-25, he averaged 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.5 three-point field goals made on .465/.378/.781 shooting.
If Giddey can continue to shoot with that level of efficiency, he could operate as the proverbial glue guy for a Warriors team in need of an Andre Iguodala type of figure in the rotation.
The question, of course, is whether or not Chicago has interest in adding Kuminga to its core. It already has a productive young scoring wing in Matas Buzelis, as well as a guard who has been knocking on the All-Star door in Coby White.
The Boston Celtics are proof positive that lineups with two high-volume forwards can work, however, and Kuminga would offer an opportunity to upgrade from Patrick Williams.
In the event that Chicago and Golden State are interested in this move, the question then becomes a matter of logistics. Both franchises are facing the brutal reality of negotiating against Base Year Contract rules that limit the amount of salary they can take back.
As such, a third team would likely need to be introduced to facilitate this potential negotiation—and both sides could end up shipping out additional players and contracts.
Hope shouldn't be lost, however, as the deadline for qualifying offers to be accepted is less than two months away. It stands to reason that neither franchise nor player would like to see it get to that point, which offers a degree of hope that a deal can be struck in one way or another.
The logistics are nightmarish at best, but the Bulls and Warriors could resolve their biggest issues with a Giddey-for-Kuminga sign-and-trade.