This Will Be the Bulls Toughest Decision This Season

So, now that we’ve gotten the Josh Giddy signing out of the way, that was the Bulls biggest pressing decision of the off seasonason that needed to be solved for. And while yes, the Bulls roster is more or less locked in and ready to go to start training camp in the regular season. But now comes the tougher decision. I considered to be a tougher decision anyway because at the end of the day, I think we all knew Josh Giddy was eventually going to be resigned. There was no world where they were going to let him walk for nothing as a restricted free agent, especially when teams didn’t have the cap space to sign him. And we knew the qualifying offer was also going to be a very unlikely scenario. So to me that was the easier decision for the front office since they had most of the leverage and control over Josh Giddy’s future. It was just a matter of figuring out how much to pay him and for how long. The harder decision now which will carry into the season and even next off season and that’s the futures of Kobe White and I would assume two players who are going into the season on expiring contracts who will both be set to become unrestricted free agents next summer. both players who are going to command big paydays much more than what they’re making right now and both players who well still young only 25 years old they’re sort of aging themselves out of the bull’s current core timeline with moduselis Noah Seni and Josh Giddy doesn’t mean that they can’t still be pieces that the Bulls can work with and obviously players that can contribute towards what they’re building but when they’re coming up for new contracts they’re about to be free agents they’ll be 26 by the time they are free agents you have to ask yourself is it worth paying these these guys large amounts of money, signing them up long-term when you’re not really in a position to be competing right now. Now, maybe that somehow miraculously changes between now and the end of the season. The Bulls are ready to be competing and making deep playoff runs, but as of right now, we know that’s not the case, and we’d be lying to ourselves if we said that it was. Now, the question is, well, what are the options the Bulls have as it relates to these two players? One, they can extend them before they become unrestricted free agents. The Bulls can extend them. They can extend them before they become unrestricted free agents. The Bulls can extend them early, but we know that’s not going to happen because both players can make more money if they simply wait until next summer. They’re going to make more money whether it be with the Bulls or another team. Two, the Bulls can obviously sign them to extensions when they become free agents next summer, and they actually would have the upper hand in that they can sign them for more money than any other team around the league could offer. Three, they let their contracts expire, see how things play out when free agency opens, and if some team offers them too much money, they let them walk for nothing in return. Something that cannot and should not happen if you’re the Bulls. And if you don’t want that to happen, you anticipate that might be the case because you’re unsure about committing long-term money to these guys, then here comes the fourth option. You trade them, whether it be one or both of those players. Now, I do want to be clear. The Bulls will have money to sign both Kobe and IO next season if they wanted to. Like even if Kobe commands north of $30 million per year, which most reports indicate that’s what he’s looking for. That’s what he wants. And let’s say IO will assign him for a conservative amount of 15 to$18 million per year. That’s around $45 million combined between those two players. Let’s even say 50 million just to be safe because maybe either one might command a little bit more depending on the type of season that they have. The Bulls are projecting to have around $80 million in cap space next offseason. So even at 50 million for Kobe and Io, that would still leave the Bulls around $30 million in projected cap room to sign potential free agents. So the question isn’t can the Bulls afford to keep both these guys after they just gave Giddy that $100 million contract? They absolutely can. The question is should they? Does it make sense for them long term? Because the other thing you have to start thinking about is moduselis is going to be extensionel eligible the following offseason the summer of 2027. Noah Seni will be extensionel eligible the year after that. Now that’s plenty of time to figure out what they’re going to do with these guys. But if they really start taking off and we’ve already seen strides and potential for Modus, well then you have to bake that into your future cap sheet. And if you’re going to prioritize future dollars, it’s going to be for someone like Modus over Kobe or IO. Now, maybe you could get either Kobe or IO on shorter term deals, say two years, maybe three years max. But one, I find that very unlikely. They’re going to want longerterm agreements and likely would get longer term deals from other teams. And even if they were able to get them on short-term deals, what’s the point? And I don’t mean that like it’s pointless to sign these guys. I just mean it in the sense that what’s the overall game plan here? to kick the can down the road and maybe hope to trade them later on. Their value is higher once they age out of this timeline. Kobe’s trade value right now is the highest it’s ever been. IO’s trade value, sure, coming off a season ending injury isn’t that high, but for a two-way role player that you can get on a very team-friendly deal with the age of 25, yeah, there’s some value there. Now, to me, I don’t necessarily think you need to move both players before they become free agents, but given there is some overlap here in terms of this still being a pretty guard heavy roster, especially after the Bulls resigned Trey Jones and of course now Josh Giddy, to me, I don’t know that it makes sense to keep both Kobe and IO around long term. Like, as much as I love both of those guys, I think they’re fierce competitors. They were drafted by this organization, have been with the team their whole careers. I’m just practically speaking about the long-term future of this team and the opportunities they could have available to them in the form of a trade before locking up a lot of long-term money to both of these players when they have an opportunity to double down on more costcontrolled assets. Players on rookie scale contracts or draft picks that give them more financial flexibility for the future when this team is still so uncertain and figuring out what they are, what their identity is. The other thing you have to consider too is if you’re going down the route of paying both Kobe and Io aside from the inevitable future contracts of Modis and Asen, but that’s a potential extension to Isaac Aoro. He only has one more year on his deal after this season. You just traded Lonzo Ball to get him. Do you intend to keep him around long term? And if so, at what cost? And then to a lesser extent, but still something to consider, Zack Collins, Kevin Herder, they’re on expiring contracts as well. They’re going to be free agents after the season. My assumption is the Bulls are going to let them walk. Maybe they extend Herder depending on how he fits with the Bulls style of offense and he did fit very well after he got his first few games out of the way. Initially, he looked unplayable after the Bulls first traded for him, but then he finally got the swing of things after the first couple weeks or so. But any extension to those guys is obviously going to take up more of that $80 million in cap space the Bulls are projected to have. So, yeah, the Bulls have to be calculated. They have to be strategic in actually being in a position where they have ample cap room. But if they’re going to use all that cap room to just resign all their current players, does that really make sense for this team long term? That’s why I’m of the opinion where it makes more sense to keep one of Kobe or IO. Most likely Kobe. And if you’re wary of handing out a big contract to Kobe because you want to maintain that cap flexibility around your young core, yes, I’m going to start calling it the young core modus Josh Giddy Seni. And if you’re wary of that, then you need to take advantage of Kobe’s trade value being at its peak and maximize the return that you can get for him. Same can be said for I for that matter if there is a hesitancy around signing him long term. I doubt that anything happens before the start of the season, meaning any trades happen before the start of the season because the Bulls have the luxury of time being on their side. They’re not going to be competing for anything this year. They can see how the season plays out, see what’s working, see what isn’t, assess the trade market, and then make a decision from there. So, I fully expect Kobe and IO will be with this team to start the season. Where it’s going to get interesting is when we get closer to the trade deadline and seeing where this team is in the standings and what the market is for Kobe and Iowa at that time. That’s going to be the toughest decision for the Bulls in this upcoming year. Just my take on the matter. I would love to hear what you guys think though. You let me know in the comments. As always, be sure to subscribe and I will see you in the next one.

Discussing the Bulls toughest decision this season with the impending free agencies of Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu

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35 comments

  5. Well I hope that Coby White can stay consistent win or lose and then maybe the Bulls can still keep him around I say Trade both of them instead of just letting them walk away if it comes to that

  6. Ayo is a winning player. Coby is a leader and balls out. Wouldn't be mad about signing both. Im curious what we would be getting in a trade tho. Their performance this year i think will be the deciding force in this

  7. Nothing is going to happen until after the year is over on how they did. {Bulls] If the team has a great year {50-32] decisions will be made easier. If they have a lousy year {36-46} decisions will be made easier. If they have a so-so year{43-39] decisions will be made harder.

  8. Personally, I'm keeping Ayo as a role-playing bench piece, and I'm trading Coby to get younger role players or draft picks (or even a veteran for the young guys)

  10. How are we going to build if we develop players and then ship them off when they get decent? This seems to be cyclical for Chicago. A clear list of players we build and ship off – sick of it. Ayo and Coby need to stay as there is something to be said about passion and heart when you play and they have it. Bring someone in or hopefully offload vooch to free up more space for a good big.

  11. I agree Jamaal. I've been debating this on my channel often. I'm not sure whats gonna happen…

    I feel like I would rather trade Coby and keep Ayo… but I know I'm in the minority on that.

    We're going to have to talk about this when we come together for @BullsWithoutBorders on September 26th! [Shameless plug, I know! 😂]

  12. I’d say if Coby wants more than 25 mil
    Then let him walk
    Resign Ayo in the 15-18 mil range
    Then use the remaining cap to sign one big free agent
    We need some big star power on this team

  16. A couple of years ago on this channel you thought Ayo should stay and Coby should go…… Now 2025 they both might be out. Personally Ayo see out because having him and Okoro who are limited scorers makes no sense. Coby. The Bulls have to determine if he can lead them in the playoffs or not. It's 50/50 for Coby.

  17. These timeline conversations have become a little insane. If you think your 20-25 year olds have potential yes keep your 26 year olds who will be at the tail end of their prime (not career) when your next guys are blossoming.

  21. If Giddy and White will be our future front court for the Bulls. Then we really need to make our franchise guy someone in the front court via trade, free agency, or the draft. Because a White and Giddey front court is not a elite back court going forward

  22. No, its not hard decision. You should have traded them at the 2025 trade deadline or at the latest at the draft night. Now you just need to resign them. You don't get much for a potential rental, that what Coby and Ayo are now. Nobody isn't trading any value at this upcoming trade deadline for 2-3 month of Coby!

  23. Why not sign them to a valuable contract. We are in no space to let talent walk. Accumulate as much talent on reasonable contracts to trade for that higher tier player/ star down the road.

  24. I wanted the Bulls to draft both Coby and Ayo, Ayo was a second round steal IMHO. The FO has not impressed me with trades but I feel they have drafted well the last few 7:49 drafts. If you can’t get at least 2 first round picks for Coby and a first round pick plus for Ayo I’m skeptical we’ll see a decent return. Heuter and Collins can be resigned if their play this season merits it and the price is reasonable. Our biggest issue is at Center, the FO will keep Vuc and Billy will play him. I think that is the biggest issue, they keeping kicking the can down the road about who plays the 5 when Vuc isn’t here and can we find a more impactful player at the 5 because if we can’t we’ll be lucky to finish 8th and be out of the playoffs at the first round. We need better front court defense and just like with Zac and Demar we need to develop other players not count on Vuc for a good part of our offense.

  25. Lets just trade everybody we draft a build up. Matas is next? What are we talking about. You keep both. We are on the Cavaliers trajectory if we get a legist proven star 2026 27

  26. Lol. Coby and Ayo are both just 3 years olders than Giddey. Coby has gotten better and better every year and is still pre prime. And Ayo is the kind of glue guy who can fit literally any team.

  28. Well Im gonna tell you like I told you with Giddy (goat, Wine post). There is no #1 on this team right now. Coby right now is a #3 guy, but now Giddy IS now the #3 guy salary-wise for the Bulls. IF they win two playoff games and Coby is leading the team, then they will Pay Coby like he is a #2 (+25M/yr). I cant seen any of these guys being on the level of a #1 guy on a championship team next year. So if they are below 500 at the deadline, they trade Coby at the Deadline. They are not going to pay anyone on this team like they are a #2 (+25M/yr) with zero playoffs wins, that's just it period. Play-in wins isn't going to cut it either. Playoff wins. Period.. Teams have to really be careful who they give that #1 and #2 salary slot too in this new CBA. put the wrong person in those slots and your toast until the last year of the contract and teams are not trading for bad contracts prior to those contracts being last year contracts under this NEW CBA – no team can afford to do that.

    They will resign Vuc or extend him. He is always available, stretches the floor, a double double machine and there is zero replacement for him in the FA market. like it or not, he is staying..

    If Kaminga signs that QO and is healthy year end, he will be the Bulls #1 target in FA and they will pay him +30M/yr. They have Giddy so he is the only one that makes sense in major player FA, as he is young, can play the 2/3/4 and has actually shown up in the playoffs and carried for stretches on a championship level team, and he wants to be the guy, the #1… He is not an old ring chaser and he doesn't duplicate the top two guys they would have Giddy and Matas, if Coby is a URF. They are not wasting their time with Bron, KD, or Harden and Trey is not as desirable due to Giddy needing the ball, in addition to there are zero #1 type player who are difference makers after those 4. Then next tier are a bunch of recycles that the Bulls are not paying #1 or #2 money too.. Even realistic targets for 2027, today are a bunch of "No Thank You " guys.

    My post are like wine… print it out, put in in you cellar, break it out later and enjoy.. They just get better with time..

  30. Can we actually watch the season before we make that assumption. Your take is true, but if we look at the second half the season this team can play, and that was without ayo dosomu. A full year with them together it’ll be a successful year. Chemistry is important. I say keep our core no matter what happens.

  34. This doesn't seem like a tough decision to me. Trade Ayo during this season for draft capital or a complimentary piece, re-sign Coby sooner than later, offload Vooch sooner than later, offload P. Will sooner than later. I like keeping Zach Collins and Kevin Huerter as rotation pieces as long as it's not pricey. A roster of Giddey, White, Buzelis, P. Will Replacement, Vooch Replacement, Jones, Huerter, Collins, Okoro, Essengue could be a low playoff team even with Billy Donovan coaching.

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