Bulls LOCK IN Josh Giddey to extension, how it impacts Bulls’ future | By The Horns

Bulls LOCK IN Josh Giddey to extension, how it impacts Bulls’ future | By The Horns

What’s up everybody and welcome to a new edition of the By the Horns podcast presented by Toyota and you know that Toyota has more all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles than any other brand. So find yours and shine on Toyota. Let’s go places. Cam Smith back with my man Casey Johnson. Casey, it’s been a little time since we addressed everyone with the By the Horns pod, but we’re coming back with some fire, man, because we have some news for Bulls fans that just came out yesterday, um, Tuesday as we record this pod on Wednesday, is that Josh Giddy, no more Giddy Gate. 71 days it took for us to get to a deal between the Bulls and Josh Giddy, but he signed a 4-year, $100 million deal. Um, and he avoids a couple of situations. he avoids one the qualifying offer situation that he could have been involved in is what we saw with Cam Thomas. Giddy was one of four players that were in that group that were restricted free agents that were kind of in limbo of what was going to happen. And so the other two with Quinton Grimes and Jonathan Kamingus, two guys that we talked about throughout this pod as it relates to Josh Giddy and the deal that he and the Bulls were just at an impass on. But that is no more and he has signed with the Bulls four years 100 mil. So Casey, I know you’re chomping at the bit to get into this one, man. So start us off in terms of like your reaction when you heard the news, but then also the ripple effect of this deal for Josh Giddy. Yeah, there’s a lot to get into on this podcast, Kim. I know we’re both excited to talk about it. Let’s start with a little bit of minutia that I think is pretty cool. He’s technically only agreed to terms. He has actually not signed the contract. And here’s why. He wants to do it in person. He’s on his way in from Australia and is going to be hitting the advocate center uh in a couple days here, I’m told, to sign the contract in person, which is always, I think, a good touch. I mean, it could be faxed over to him and signed or however you do it this these days, docuign or I don’t know. But so the fact he wants to do it in the Bulls building flying all the way from Australia, I think is significant and a nice little capstone to these long and sometimes tedious negotiations. But, uh, you and I have both been very consistent both on the By the Horns podcast and our appearances or my appearances on your show, The Chicago Lead, and also uh, my Fast Break episodes. I always pointed to a long-term deal deal getting done. I know there was a lot of panic uh, amongst the fan base at times um, the longer it stretched out. I just never thought that Josh Giddy would play on the qualifying offer. Um, I maintained that the Bulls traded Alex Caruso to get a long-term deal done with Josh Giddy. And, um, we can get into the things I like about it and, the things I I don’t like about it, um, uh, as we move through this podcast. But, overall, look, man, uh, if you get the guy who finished uh, the season averaging almost a triple double after the All-Star break while the Bulls go 15 and five, this is going to be one of those deals you look back on and smile as a Bulls fan. Yeah, I’m with you, KC. when you look at those numbers post all-star break, 21 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists, but it was the shooting aspect that I think gets looked over with Josh Giddy because you know this and I know this as well coming into the season, but as as a refresher for some Bulls fans is that he was not known as a three-point shooter and he had his difficulties especially in the first half of the season, but really improved it really as total um throughout the season, but also after Allstar break where he shot 46% from three. So, you hear that number and you see a name attached to that in Josh Kitty, you’re like, “Wait a minute, hold on. We got to look into this thing a little deeper, but it’s also the um the workload that he was given after the Zack Lavine trade and how he really stepped up his role and really stepped into that role. Um, and a lot of Knights was leading this Bulls team. I mean, you go back to March and what we saw against the Lakers, not just the game-winning shot from half court, but just in totality in that game and what he was able to do. And I think that was a microcosm of what we saw with Josh Giddy post allstar break. So it’s the numbers attached to how he improved and I’m sure with the Bulls front office, they looked at that in terms of how he was able to get better with a bigger role with this team and they had the trust in him. They had the trust in him before. Not to say that they didn’t have the trust previously, but the trust really grew stronger with Josh Giddy and saw how he was able to thrive in Billy Donovan’s system. That that’s a great point. And look, Cam, I mean, we both know 46% three-point shooting is not sustainable, right? But but what is sustainable is the way he played in those final 20 games. You saw him attack the rim more, get downhill more, play through physicality more, get to the free throw line more. He was not a driver. He would always stop and shoot that floater in that first half of that season and largely throughout his Oklahoma City um career. And so to see that sea change and that mental change that you had in Josh Giddy and that’s just at the offensive end. We also need to talk about his defensive compete level because I’ve talked about this anecdote multiple times, but it was because it was so visceral. I mean, he got benched down the stretch of that road loss to Cleveland um in that first half of that season. And I’ve never I’ve rarely encountered an athlete as as despondent as Josh Giddy was in that postgame locker room. And look, he owned it. He I remember him talking to myself and and the rest of the beat about just I got to look inward. I need to be better at that end. And I’m not saying Josh Giddy’s a lock down defender, but what I saw again as a guy competing harder at that level, fighting over screens. He He’s a big He’s a big guard and using a little bit more of that physicality at that end. And if you continue to see that effort at the defensive end, that’s obviously what you’re hoping for when you when you sign a guy to that kind of deal. Yeah. The effort and the compete level for Josh K. He even admitted to himself just like, yeah, he realized that he has to have more effort on the defensive end. I think that’s a small part in terms of the system that he was in with Billy Donovan as his head coach, but also seeing other guys like Iodum really compete and get after it as well. And of course that huge forward group that the Bulls had last season and seeing those guys really scrap and claw for minutes. But it’s just that those those are the examples for me and also I’m sure for yourself Casey and also the Bulls front office we’re like yeah he’s understanding what it takes to take that next step in his career and we saw from a guy for sure that had a lot of pressure on himself coming into this season. I mean let’s just be real about it. Obviously the Bulls trading him straight up or trading Alex Caruso straight up for Josh Giddy. You come into that situation knowing that yeah people are going to have their their eyes on you. there there’s they’re going to have you in your scopes. But he’s a dude that had to adjust, right? But when he got into his footing and really got into his rhythm, you saw him really shine. And that’s when you look at the second half of the season, you’re like, “Yes, this is a guy that really understood what was in front of him and took advantage of it.” So, it’s it’s a big uh huge round of applause to Josh Giddy and him stepping up. He’s only 22. He turns 23 in October. And that’s another part of this deal. and we’re getting to the positives of this thing with the Bulls is that with this four-year thing, he’s going to be 27 when we get to that final year. So, he’s really going into his prime. And so, if he’s just scratching the surface of what we can see from Josh Giddy, then you look back on that deal, as you mentioned, KC, and you’re like, “Yeah, this is a pretty sweet deal for a guy that is continuing to get better, right?” And from Josh Giddy’s perspective, I always maintain like the reason I thought a long-term deal was going to get done rather than him playing on the qualifying offer is you pointed to this already a little bit like his usage rate post Lavine trade and just the responsibility he was given. I mean, he was basically given the keys to the car, right? And I I don’t see him having that role with too many other teams in the league. And so, um, this is a great situation for him to showcase his talents. And you know, I I’ll never forget his postseason press conference, his exit press conference when uh the legendary Sam Smith from Bulls.com asked him, you know, like which Josh Giddy are you? The one we saw in the first 50 games of the season or the one we saw post allstar break? And obviously he’s going to answer, well hopefully it’s the one at postall all-star break. But you know, this is why this was a difficult negotiation. um is you still you you hope that that’s the one especially with you know the usage rate being as high as it’s going to be going into next season. But um you know there uh there’s the well documented instance of him being kind of pulled from the playoff rotation his last season in OKC and the way he started last season with the Bulls he admitted he was trying to fit in too much. He was not playing with aggression. An aggressive Josh Giddy is a very very good Josh Giddy and that’s the one that the Bulls are hoping they get for the next four years. Yeah, a guy that we saw in the first half of the season that he got into trouble with the jump passes, obviously driving the lane. I love that you made the point of him just really grinding out defenders by getting all the way to the basket as opposed to jump passing and kind of doing almost a 360 in the air trying to get that basketball out of his hands and learning from that. And so he’s 22, right? And and I get it. I’m not going to try and continue to use that as a crutch for Josh Giddy. But also when you can see guy a guy make improvements and really make the leap that he did in the second half of the season. It has to give you as a Bulls fan hope that what he can be is something that is going to be a piece for this foundation moving forward for this group when you think of other names like Modus Balis. We’re going to talk about Kobe Whiten a little bit and trying to see where he fits in along with Iodumu with this Bull’s future. But with this deal and who Josh Giddy is and I think and I love that you brought up the point of him agreeing to the deal, hasn’t signed it and he wants to fly from Australia, come back to Chicago and sign it on the Bulls facility in the Bulls facility. I think that speaks volumes really to how he feels about this deal and really how he feels about this franchise in the future going forward. So says a lot to me about Josh Kitty because everybody knows this and you should know this that’s not a short flight from Australia to Chicago. So for him to do that, especially training camp starting at the end of the month and really cutting his time away from maybe family and friends to be in Chicago to sign this deal and get himself going for training camp, I think it says a lot about where he is mentally with this team. Yeah. All right. So, some things I like about the deal and some things I don’t like about I I’ve been told that there are no uh options either team or player. So, yeah, that was interesting. Yeah. So, that file that one away. I actually have not I don’t know how it’s structured. like I don’t know if it’s straight 25 all four years or if it’s ascending or descending. So factor that that’ll shade this a little bit whenever we get that information. Um but for just first glance at it um you can quibble like again the bulls maybe went a little bit too high because there was no market for him. But I maintain this like with the rising salary cap this deal is roughly 14 to 15% of the salary cap. Okay. Um, that’s a pretty good number for a starting point guard, right? I mean, a max player demands 25% of your salary cap, you know, it’s like you’re getting him on a pretty good number. Um, you could quibble if it’s 25 the first year. That that’s obviously a lot higher than the qualifying offer. But then you also have to factor in like how angry do you want Josh Giddy to be? You you you don’t want to completely alienate this guy either if he’s part of your future and he’s clearly part of your future because you traded Alice Caruso for him. So, um I don’t get too hung up on that. Uh was it maybe a little bit of an overpay given the Bulls had all the leverage? Sure. But I I still think for 14 to 15% of the salary cap, you’re getting a very very good player. Um and you know, that’s potentially a contract that is tradable in the future if you need to go that route. So, there’s that part that I like. I also like um you know that Josh Giddy um you know was connected through the organization throughout this process. Was he frustrated at times? Absolutely. But he was consistent contact with his teammates. He had that sit down with Billy Donovan in Las Vegas during summer league. So he feels very much a part of this organization and feels very connected to this organization. Two things I don’t love about the deal. Um okay and this really goes back to the original trade. A lot of people got hung up on the lack of the Bulls getting dra the Bulls lack of draft capital in the trade for Alice Cruso. That’s one point. The point I always focus on is I didn’t love that they traded for a guy that immediately put you on the contract clock. So like you had to make a judgment on this guy after one season and it was a very polarizing season as we’ve already discussed. like you saw two different Josh Giddy’s in the first half of the season and the second half of the season and then you’ve got to make a decision on whether or not to commit $100 million to this guy. So ideally I would have liked to have seen the Bulls trade Alex Kuser for a player that gave you two years of runway to make a decision on whether or not to pay him also because then that would have more aligned with the futures of Iodumu and Kobe White. And we’ve been talking spec you and I have been speculating Cam about their futures for a while. That speculation is only going to intensify. I’ve already reported that the Bulls had some pretty substant substantial talks this past offseason with the Western Conference playoff team regarding Iota Sumu. You know, you have to wonder with both those guys heading to unrestricted free agency, $25 million tied up in Josh Kitty. What do the futures hold? Kobe White is going to get paid next summer. There is zero issu zero question about that. Is it going to be by the Bulls or is it going to be somebody else? And if it’s going to be by somebody else, do the Bulls try to get out in front of that and make a very painful decision to entertain trade talks for him? Because let me make this clear. Kobe White is very much valued within the organization. Is valued not only for his skill, but also his leadership, his compete level, his commitment to teammates. They they love Kobe White within the Bulls organization. But these are the hard decisions about the business of basketball. If you think he’s going elsewhere next summer in unrestricted free agency, do you try to get in front of that and entertain a very difficult decision to try to trade him? So yeah, I know I rambled a little bit there, but that’s my pros and cons of the trade. And uh the big one is to me you’ve got to make decisions now pretty quickly on Kobe White and I would assume. Look, Casey, you were cooking dog. So I was like, you know, holding everybody back. let my man KC cook because I loved everything that you broke down and how you got into really the nitty-gritty of everything and how that future looks for this Bulls team, especially when it involves Kobe White and that’s the tough decision that they’re going to have to make in terms of what they want to do with him really how much they want to give him, what he’s trying to seek because he’s going to be an unrestricted free agent. But then also on the other side of that, I Dumu homegrown and we’ve seen him get better every single year with this franchise and how his future looks when it comes to what he wants, what his representation is going to try and ask for and how that fits into the piece of the pie or how much of the piece of the pie that he can get. So you can already set aside Giddy’s contract and what he has for that team. And you, as you mentioned, we don’t know the the the the particulars of it in terms of his ascending or descending and how that breaks down with it every season with his deal of 100 million in those four years. But also, what are you going to give Kobe White? How that contract will be structured? How much will be left for I do? Of course, this Bulls team will have a lot of salary cap after this upcoming season. So, how does that play in them trying to lure a free agent to the city of Chicago and what that makes for them? So, it it’s a lot of I’m thinking Tom Cruz Minority Report. You heard me say this before on this podcast. Or if you want to kind of do something more current, maybe uh hangover with Zack Galifanakis when he was in the casino and you see all the numbers flying around his face. That’s the priority and really responsibility of Arcturus Kishas and Mark Everlessly and this front office of how they can make this thing work with this contract and really what they view this team is and how they want this team to be moving forward. And don’t forget about Montasalis, right? he’s going to come up to a contract with him. So, it’s really and I mentioned this and I started the podcast by saying Josh Giddy agreeing to the deal and the ripple effect of that deal and th this is part of the ripple effect when you have Kobe White, you have Iodumu as unrestricted free agents after next season. Of course, down the road with Matas Bzelis, but more so going back to uh after this upcoming season, who you can get in free agencywise to really take this team to another level. So, it’s really interesting to see how this thing will play off for especially a guy like Kobe White who like Iodumu Casey, both of those guys are viewed as leaders in that locker room for sure. We heard of and reported and we talked about how they’ve led offseason workouts the previous two years um and how they’re more of the vocal guys in in the locker room as well. But also with Kobe White, he’s a guy that stepped into that role into a bigger role after the Zack Lavine trade and you saw him really flourish, right? And so that’s what I love about Kobe is that his skill set and really his compete level, but more so his taking advantage of the moment that has really risen for him. And so it’s interesting to see how that plays out. And really, you mentioned that he’s valued with this Bulls franchise. And yes, he’s 100% valued, but now you’re like, all right, how much monetarily am I valued with this Bulls franchise? And that’s the way like that’s that’s crazy the thing about sports like now like every signing is immediately viewed like both in the short term and the long term right and and um I think in the short term overall Bulls fans should be this is just my opinion like Bulls fans should feel pretty good about this because I think Josh Giddy is a very skilled player um and I think again it’s at a pretty good number um you know long-term big picture there’s always tough decisions to make um but there’s two ways to look at this I mean for the most part I think this is a positive move by the Bulls and we’ll see which Josh Giddy shows up this year. Um, one other point I wanted to quickly follow up on that you made that it’s a good one that I forgot to talk about. Um, you know, big picture is the the amount of salary cap space the Bulls could have next summer. The Bulls potentially could be major major players next summer. Um, historically they’ve not been great at attracting bigname free agents. Um, they could have upwards of like $80 million of salary cap space. They’ve got a ton of expiring contracts. Now, if IO and Kobe are in the future plans and you want to keep them, you know, on the books to potentially extend them, their cap holds are significant and so then that salary cap number would drop to like 42 43 million. Um, so that’s just again stuff for another day. We’ll be analyzing this all season. Um but that is that is important to mention like with Josh Giddy locked up now the Bulls could be players next summer and right now to me the main cornerstones are Josh Giddy uh Modis Buzzales of course Noah Sen to a little bit lesser extent just because his future a little bit in question and that’s kind of it you know so that’s that’s really the future um as kind of the Bulls move forward you know yeah as we look at that future and also to trying to get big free agents to Chicago. I think it helps when you have a head coach in Billy Donovan, but you have those pieces as you mentioned of a Josh Giddy, of a Montas Buzzel, of a Noah Sing. These are pieces where you look at guys, especially with Giddy and Montas Buzzel that want to play an up and down type of pace. And we saw last year with this Bulls team, they were one of the higher paced team teams in the NBA. And so everyone wants to get up and down and run, especially if you’re talking about some of these young athletes and guys that have really stepped up and uh shown them they can play and really take on and shoulder a load to become one of these bigname free agents. So that’s the selling point that for this Bulls franchise, I’m sure that they can lean on. And of course, this upcoming season, part of that selling point, too, is just guys are going to try and see how this team plays and how it shapes out this upcoming season because they’re going to try and have their eyes set on their their certain destinations. And with that salary cap potentially of being possibly upwards to $80 million depending on the uh the deals with Kobe White and Iodum, you can see guys really look at Chicago as a potential destination. Yeah, I mean it’s uh it’s going to be exciting to see. I mean, we’ll be busy next summer tracking all that stuff. For now, the summer work is done. Trey Jones uh well, I will not call Trey Young more than three times this season. I promise. I’ve already used one of those three, but uh Jones back, Josh Giddy back, and obviously Noah Sen added, and Lachlan Olberrich added in the draft, and don’t forget Yuki Mania over there at the Gest on that two-way. So, our our off season is done. We got media day in less than three weeks, and it’s nice to be able to talk about some some true content here on the on the By the Horns podcast. Yeah, we we we’ve mentioned this name a couple of times uh throughout the podcast right now, but we have to really bring that name to the front and to center stage and that’s Billy Donovan because this past weekend he was honored in Springfield for the Nate Smith Basketball Hall of Fame of being inducted there and you were there KC um live on location and just taking in all of that when it comes to not only Billy Donovan getting the honor of being inducted into the Nmith Basketball Hall of Fame, but a pretty great class when you think about that. the 2018 USA Olympic basketball team was inducted. You had Maya Moore, Sue Bird, former Chicago Sky star, Sylvia Fowls as well being inducted. So, a really nice class. But getting back to the focus on Billy. Uh, take us through that weekend. Um, the emotions of Billy through that and really how cool it was to see him be honored by the basketball world. Yeah, I’ve said this before. I’ve been fortunate to cover six of these. It’s really a great event. First of all, obviously everybody’s in a great mood because they’re going into the Hall of Fame, so it’s pretty chill. Um, and uh, it’s really wellrun by by the Naymith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Um, they have a media availability on Friday, and then Saturday is the ceremony at a beautiful building in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts called Symphony Hall. There’s a red carpet going up these steps of this historic old building. So, it’s just a really cool event. And Billy was just really touched by everything. I mean, I was around him a lot on Friday, um, at the media veil, um, and just, you know, was able to talk casually with him. He was really just really blown away by the amount of people that came from all parts of his past. Obviously, the Florida contingent because that’s where he had his greatest success and you could make the case as why he was going into the Hall of Fame. Um, but his days to Kentucky as an assistant coach, his playing days at Providence and Rick Patino, uh, and then current Bulls, um, and Oklahoma City, Thunder also showed out for him. Um I saw a couple members of that organization including Mark Dagnel. Um and um you know the Bulls thing we it was cool. Obviously everyone knows this by now but the fact five young players took their time. Dalen Terry, Patrick Williams, Modis Mousellis I would assume with Kobe White to come out to Springfield, Mass obviously on their own dime and support their head coach uh is is pretty cool a gesture. I mean you know this is when the grind starts. off seasonason is over and I know these guys work out off offseason but now they’re congregating back in Chicago uh working out together in advance of training camp starting in about three weeks and they spent their last weekend of quote unquote freedom flying out to Springfield Mass. In fact, Kobe and I were on the same 6 a.m. flight home back from Springfield, Mass. 6 6 a.m. Casey 6 a.m. 6 a.m. Eastern, baby. 6 a.m. Eastern. Yeah, there were several Bulls There were several Bulls related people on that flight. Uh Kobe and I were actually boarding together. Uh he was giving me a hard time as he usually does. U but uh yeah. So anyway, the point is like it was cool that they’re all out there and yeah, you mentioned the stars of class. We haven’t even talked about Carmelo who I thought delivered the speech of the night. Um that was really just so emblematic of him being his true self at all times and kind of living by his own uh you know script. And I I always respect people like that. I thought it was cool. Alan Iverson was one of his presenters sitting right behind him because AI did it the same way and also gave a similarly themed Hall of Fame speech. I’ve always loved that event. I when I don’t cover it, I watch the either on NBA TV or I go on YouTube and find the speeches. I think the speeches are so riveting because these people are really touched and overcome and it’s pretty powerful stuff and I thought Carmelo’s message was really really powerful. If you haven’t checked out his speech, I would highly recommend finding it online somewhere. Yeah, I’m with you, Casey. Especially when the random dog started barking during Carmelo’s speech and he was like, “Yeah, the dogs was barking.” It was just like And he handled it in a very mellow way where it was cool, calm, collected, but also spoke to just who he was and who he is. And that’s just someone that’s a dog that’s aggressive and just gets after and gets the the job done. So, I I was wondering like, okay, was that piped in a dog barking or was that an actual dog inside of the the the ceremony? Yeah, there was a dog there. I I never saw it, but that was a real dog. I was in the building. So, yeah. And then, you know, you mentioned the 2018. We talked about this on the Chicago league. Like, I was I someone told me later they had heard LeBron was uh coming in the day before. Uh they they heard the day before he was coming in. I’m sure he just flew in like that afternoon and went to it and then flew out. He’s got jet at his disposal. But, uh right fact LeBron James and like 10 of those players showed up was fantastic from that 2008 team. Uh that was really cool moment, too. So, great great weekend all around. Always is. And you know, I’ll never get over being at those events and like, you know, oh, here comes Patrick Euing walking up the steps and here comes Julius Irving walking up the It’s like, you know, you’re around basketball royalty. It’s just insane. It’s really insane. Yeah. I I would turn into a a nerd 100% just because I just I am a basketball nerd. But when you see these guys, it’s kind of like being at All-Star Weekend. Um, and we’ve covered All-Star Weekends before for sure. Uh, but when you see these legends walking around just casually, you’re just like, “Wait a minute. Hold on. What what’s going on right now?” Right. And and for me it never gets old. I’m sure for you it never gets old as you just explained being at the Mith Basketball Hall of Fame. But you’re talking about the royalty of the game and guys that have helped shape the game and take basketball to another level. And being in that space for sure is something that will be memorable. Um, and when you think about obviously with Billy and you mentioned Carmelo Anthony, he coached Carmelo, you know, and his kind of final seasons in Oklahoma City. So, that was pretty cool to see them embrace and interact with each other. But also with Billy, I think one caveat and really not a really nice antidote is that after being inducted into the Naymith Basketball Hall of Fame, he’s the only active coach in the NBA that is a Hall of Famer. So, that’s pretty cool for Billy Donovan to be able to have that. So just a slight flex if Billy wanted to throw it out there. But we know he’s not going to do that. That’s just not Billy’s style, but just when you learn about just his impact on the game and it’s not just his coaching, it’s also him as a player. And I think that’s a cool thing about the Nate Smith Basketball Hall of Fame. It doesn’t just focus on what you did collegially or professionally or maybe even high school. And you’d be hardressed to find somebody that was elected to the Naymith Basketball Hall of Fame just off of their high school career. But it encompasses everything. all of your contributions to the game of basketball, which is very special. And I’m sure there were people out there that didn’t know that Billy Donovan was a player. And when I say a player, he was a player. We’re talking old school Big East for Providence. Rick Patino was his head coach and one of his presenters um at the hall. So, that was pretty cool to see that connection and that bond that they still have and maintain with each other. But, it’s what he was as a player has really transitioned and helped him as a coach. you just see it as well where he’s a guy basketball mindwise and IQ he’s one of the games best and so it was great to see him get his flowers um and be celebrated by so many and you you talked about the speeches for everyone with the basketball hall of fame and I’m with you Casey I advise everyone to go watch Carmelo speech because it was that good but watching these speeches over the years you see these players or these coaches really have to be uh super confident and carry themselves a certain way because they have teammates or a franchise or a fan base that view them as the leader and so they’re getting their confidence and their trust from that player. But when they give these speeches, it’s the vulnerability aspect that I love seeing from these coaches and these players where you see a guy like Carmelo, we’ve seen it in years past with Michael Jordan or Kevin Garnett and they’re going through what made them them, right? And just really their origin story. And I’m always a big I told you I’m a basketball nerd, but I love the origin story of a lot of these great players and you get more insight into why they are who they are and why they become that. But it’s that vulnerability aspect that you see in those speeches and you saw with Billy’s speech as well that you get and gain more respect for that person and it’s really just cool to see and experience. Yeah. And I I’ll totally agree with you on the vulnerability part, but I’ll push back a little bit on Michael Jordan showing vulnerability because I don’t I don’t think he was very vulnerable. And I actually behind the curtain anecdote that I I’ve shared before in other formats, but not here on the By the Horns podcast because I was at that Michael Jordan Hall of Fame weekend. That was my first of six um that I’ve covered. And I’ I’ve told the story before it was amazing. So like they that back then they had the press conference media availability the morning of um the the the ceremony and Michael was really like humble and reflective and gracious and I was working for the Chicago Tribune at the time. So I had already kind of pre-written most of my story because I had deadline at night for when the ceremony happened. Yeah. Yeah. And then he comes out and legend has now over the years said that he went out and played like 36 holes of golf in between the morning press conference and um the ceremony and there may or may not have been some embibing during that 36 golf. I’m not saying there was I’m just saying this is what I’ve heard. Urban legend right but everyone knows what happened in the speech. He was not gracious and reflective. He was vindictive and harsh and kind of showed his competitive side. And I’ll I’ll never forget like I’m on deadline in this room going, “Oh man, I’ve got to rewrite because I had my story kind of structured about this gracious, reflective uh Michael Jordan and then all a sudden it was like the torch to earth competitive side of Michael Jordan. It’s like who who had a conversation with Michael? what happened during those 36 holes of golf, you know, allegedly that that just set him off because somebody did something and, you know, he he always takes everything as a challenge and maybe it was just something small that clicked and he’s like, “Wait a minute. Not only did you have to probably, you know, he had to rewrite your story, but I’m sure he had to rewrite his speech or just go off the cuff and just go and do, you know, what Michael Jordan does and that just scorched the earth.” Hey, some people didn’t like that speech. I thought it was pretty legendary, man. I mean, it was Yeah. So anyway, yeah, these are all great stories and yeah, Hall of Fame is that’s what it’s about. It’s about stories, man. There’s great stories around that weekend every year and Billy Billy’s the latest chapter for sure. Yeah, no doubt. Congrats to that 2025 class that was inducted to the Naymith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts last weekend. So Casey, man, it is great to just have some current and updated news so we can provide to all of our viewers and listeners. We appreciate everyone for all of that, but it’s just good to see that. And of course with Josh Giddy, the four-year deal uh for $100 million. We’ll get into the particulars as they come out. And we’ll be um on location when he signs that deal um in person. Just agreed to it. Nothing has signed yet, but we’ll be on location to have another updated pot for you as we get closer to training camp, you know, and so it is going to be right around the corner for that. So, Casey, I’m sure you’re you’re you’re in in in shape right now in terms of like getting ready for the season and training camp. So, I know you’re excited for it. Always, man. Yeah, maybe that’ll be fun. And uh we got a couple more by the Hornets podcast between now and then. So, this was a fun one. Good talking to you. Definitely. Always great talking to you, Casey. And we appreciate all of our viewers and listeners for staying tapped into us. And that’ll do it for this edition of the By the Horns podcast presented by Toyota. You know that Toyota has more all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles than any other brand. So, find yours and shine on. Toyota, let’s go places. For my man Casey Johnson, I’m Cam Smith. We’ll talk to you soon, Bulls fans. Take care.

Cam Smith and KC Johnson react to the Bulls and Josh Giddey agreeing to a four-year, $100M deal—and why he plans to sign it in person at the Advocate Center. They dig into Giddey’s post-All-Star surge, what’s sustainable vs. not, and how his role under Billy Donovan unlocked downhill aggression and better defense. Then: the ripple effects—what this number means for upcoming decisions on Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu, the Bulls’ potential 2026 cap flexibility, and how this young core shapes free-agent pitches. Plus, KC takes us inside Billy Donovan’s Hall of Fame weekend.

By The Horns podcast is presented by Toyota!

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