Chicago Tribune Top News｜芝加哥公牛队自由球员市场动向前瞻：从约什·吉迪的合同谈判到乔纳森·库明加的转会传闻

The Chicago Bulls are ready to dive headfirst into one of the busiest cycles of the NBA calendar.

Free agency will open at 5 p.m. Monday, although contracts cant be officially signed until July 6. The action began to heat up over the weekend as teams began dealing in an effort to carve out cap space for free agents. This flurry of initial transactions included the Bulls, who traded Lonzo Ball to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Isaac Okoro in another player-for-player swap.

The Bulls have several clear priorities this summer. Chicago is aiming to get even younger as the Bulls focus on development while reconstructing the roster . This means offloading the final contracts of the previous 2021 build, which included Balls departure this weekend.

The front office also wants to create as much financial flexibility as possible for the 2026 offseason, which general manager Marc Eversley and executive vice president of basketball operations Artras Karni08ovas have highlighted as their target period to expedite the rebuild process.

So what does that mean for the current roster? And could there be any more new players on the way to Chicago? Heres what to know about the Bulls in free agency.

The main free agency concern for the Bulls is contract negotiations with guard Josh Giddey, who is currently a restricted free agent. Giddey averaged 14.6 points and 7.2 assists in his debut year with the Bulls, but closed the season on a tear while averaging 21.2 points and 9.3 assists (against 3.4 turnovers) while shooting 45.7% from 3-point range in the final 19 games after the All-Star break.

Historically, the Bulls prefer to let restricted free agents test the market before entering serious contract conversations. This isnt exactly playing hardball for instance, Patrick Williams underwent this same process and still ended up landing a five-year, $90 million deal but it allows both parties to feel out a starting point for negotiations.

So even if he receives offer sheets from other teams, Giddey is expected to re-sign with the Bulls this summer. He has been made one of the central priorities of Chicagos rebuild around young talent due to the front offices affinity for his playmaking and growth in the latter half of the 2024-25 season.

With his return seemingly inevitable, the question around this process is the final price tag. Giddey is likely pursuing a deal around $30 million for a four- to five-year period. The Bulls will want to negotiate this number down which is more easily accomplished by compromising on a longer contract but their commitment to the guard has been fairly clear in the build-up to these negotiations.

For weeks, the Bulls have been connected to the Golden State Warriors as a potential landing spot for Jonathan Kuminga.

Kuminga averaged 15.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game for the Warriors last year despite missing 31 games during the middle of the season with an ankle injury. But he tumbled out of the rotation in the playoffs and didnt return to a full-time starting role until the last four games of the second round against the Minnesota Timberwolves, when he averaged 24.2 points per game with Steph Curry out due to injury.

As a restricted free agent, the Warriors would need to execute a sign-and-trade deal to move Kuminga. Although they could technically allow the center to walk, the Warriors tendered a qualifying offer this weekend to lock Kuminga into the restricted free agency process. Golden State has expressed optimism about the teams ability to move the big this summer.

I’d like to figure something out sooner than later, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said on draft night. That would be great. But I also acknowledge with restricted free agency these things can drag out a little bit and take some time. I think we feel pretty comfortable with who JK is as a player and what he can do for our organization, and it’s a main priority going into free agency.”

Trading Ball removed one of the potential pieces the Bulls could have included in a trade proposal for Kuminga. And they would also have to negotiate a new contract with the forward, which could go against the teams goals of keeping the salary sheet tidy and unencumbered for the future.

However, Kuminga doesnt have to be a long-term solution. The Bulls have adopted a longer scope on their current issues again, refer back to their 2026 goals which means this could be a stopgap compromise for the frontcourt.

The Bulls need to part with Nikola Vu00evi04 if not this summer, then certainly before the trade deadline. The center doesnt make sense on this roster anymore. With Ball traded, he is the only remaining player from the 2021 series of acquisitions meant to build out the original vision for the Bulls under Karni08ovas and Eversley.

At 34, Vu00evi04 is at least five years older than any of his teammates and nine years older than any projected starter. Hes staring down the impending arrival of perhaps his final NBA contract. And while the center maintained his professionalism throughout the turmoil of the last two seasons, he made it clear this season that he doesnt see a future with the Bulls.

Vu00evi04 enjoyed a streak of unparalleled shooting last season, but his hot hand had completely cooled off by the end of the year. He might be better as a bench option for a competitive team than a starter for a bad one. And the concerns about his defense although sometimes overblown are only going to worsen with time and age.

So, how do the Bulls facilitate Vu00evi04s departure? The most obvious answer is the Kuminga trade, which could see the Bulls swap one frontcourt player for another with some necessary add-ons draft picks , additional players from the Chicago side.

The Bulls have already tried to deal Vu00evi04 to the Warriors once in a trade deadline deal that was smothered, in part, by the Jimmy Butler move with the Miami Heat. If that effort fails again, the Bulls will likely turn their attention to teams in immediate need of veteran center depth like the Milwaukee Bucks, Portland Trail Blazers or Atlanta Hawks. And if all of those attempts fail, then it will be hard for the Bulls not to feel as if this summer window was a failure at least in the short term.

The Bulls entered this summer primarily open to trading two guards: Ball and Coby White .

With the Ball transaction already completed, attention turns to White. The runner-up in 2024 Most Improved Player voting, the guard averaged 20.4 points and 4.5 assists last season. The Bulls have shown a slight preference to prioritize Giddey as a starting guard. And with White entering the final year of his second contract, hes in a position to be traded before seeing another significant hike in his expected salary.

The Bulls have also been open to trading Patrick Williams and Ayo Dosunmu in the correct circumstances. Dosunmu would have to return a decent value, but could make sense as a piece in a package to move Vu00evi04 or to secure Kuminga. Williams is a harder card to deal due to his extensive history of underperforming which most recently resulted in losing his starting spot to rookie Matas Buzelis but his youth and physical profile could still attract some interest.

芝加哥公牛队已做好准备，全力投入NBA赛程中最繁忙的周期之一。

NBA自由球员市场将于周一17时正式开启，但合同需等到7月6日才能正式签署。各队为腾出薪资空间已在上周末展开密集操作，交易市场逐渐升温。在这波初期交易潮中，芝加哥公牛队将朗佐·鲍尔交易至克利夫兰骑士队，换回以赛亚·奥科罗，完成又一笔球员互换交易。

今年夏天，公牛队有几项明确的优先任务。随着球队在重建阵容的同时专注于培养新人，芝加哥的目标是进一步年轻化。这意味着要清理2021年组建时期遗留的最后几份合同，其中包括本周鲍尔的离队。

管理层还希望为2026年休赛期创造尽可能多的财务灵活性，总经理马克·埃弗斯利和篮球运营执行副总裁阿图拉斯·卡尔尼绍瓦斯已明确将这一时期定为加速重建进程的目标阶段。

这对现有阵容意味着什么？芝加哥公牛队是否还会有新球员加入？以下是关于公牛队在自由球员市场中需要了解的情况。

公牛队当前自由市场的首要任务是与受限自由球员、后卫约什·吉迪完成续约谈判。吉迪加盟公牛的首个赛季场均贡献14.6分7.2次助攻，但在全明星赛后的最后19场比赛中迎来爆发——场均砍下21.2分9.3次助攻（伴随3.4次失误），三分命中率高达45.7%，为赛季画上强势句点。

从历史来看，公牛队倾向于让受限自由球员先试水自由市场，再展开实质性合同谈判。这种做法并非刻意强硬——例如帕特里克·威廉姆斯经历了相同流程，最终仍签下5年9000万美元合约——而是为双方提供一个试探谈判起点的机会。

因此，即便收到其他球队的报价合同，吉迪仍有望在今夏与公牛队续约。由于管理层对他组织能力的青睐，以及他在2024-25赛季后半程的成长表现，吉迪已成为芝加哥围绕年轻人才重建的核心重点之一。

鉴于他的回归似乎已成定局，当前谈判的核心问题在于最终合同金额。吉迪（Giddey）可能寻求一份为期4至5年、总价约3000万美元的合约。公牛队势必会试图压低这一数字——通过延长合同年限来达成妥协是更可行的策略——但在此前的谈判铺垫中，球队对这位后卫的重视态度已相当明确。

数周以来，公牛队一直被视作乔纳森·库明加可能加盟的下家，与金州勇士队联系在一起。

库明加上赛季为勇士队场均贡献15.3分和4.6个篮板，尽管他因脚踝伤势缺席了赛季中段的31场比赛。但在季后赛中，他跌出了轮换阵容，直到第二轮对阵明尼苏达森林狼队的最后四场比赛才重返首发位置。在此期间，由于斯蒂芬·库里因伤缺阵，他场均得到24.2分。

作为受限制自由球员，勇士队若想交易库明加（Kuminga），需先签后换。尽管从技术上讲他们可以放任这位中锋离队，但勇士本周末已提供资质报价，将库明加锁定在受限制自由球员流程中。金州勇士队对今夏成功运作这位内线球员的交易持乐观态度。

勇士队总经理小迈克·邓利维在选秀之夜表示："我希望尽快解决这个问题，那当然最好。但我也明白受限制自由球员的谈判可能会拖延一些时间。我们对JK（乔纳森·库明加）作为球员的定位以及他对球队的贡献感到非常满意，这将是自由球员市场开启后的首要任务。"

交易鲍尔（Ball）后，公牛队原本可能用于库明加（Kuminga）交易方案的潜在筹码便少了一个。此外，球队还需与这位前锋协商新合同，这可能会违背管理层保持薪资结构简洁、为未来预留灵活空间的既定目标。

然而，库明加（Kuminga）并非必须成为长期解决方案。公牛队对其当前问题采取了更长期的视角——再次强调其2026年目标——这意味着这可能是前场阵容的权宜之计。

公牛队需要与尼古拉·武切维奇分道扬镳——即便不在今夏，也必须在交易截止日前完成。这位中锋已不再适合球队现有阵容。随着鲍尔被交易，他成为卡尼索瓦斯和埃弗斯利领导下，公牛队2021年为实现最初建队愿景所引进球员中仅存的成员。

34岁的武切维奇比任何队友都至少年长五岁，比预期首发球员更是年长九岁。他正面临着可能迎来最后一份NBA合同的紧迫局面。尽管这位中锋在过去两个赛季的动荡中始终保持着职业态度，但本赛季他已明确表示，自己看不到在公牛队的未来。

武切维奇上赛季曾打出过一段无与伦比的投篮表现，但到了年底，他的手感已彻底冷却。对于一支有竞争力的球队来说，他或许更适合担任替补角色，而非在弱旅中首发。此外，尽管外界对他防守能力的质疑有时言过其实，但随着时间和年龄的增长，这一问题只会愈发严重。

那么，公牛队将如何促成武切维奇的离队？最显而易见的方案是通过库明加交易，公牛队可能用一名前场球员交换另一名前场球员，并附加一些必要筹码——比如选秀权或来自芝加哥的其他球员。

公牛队此前曾在交易截止日前尝试将武切维奇交易至勇士队，但这一计划因吉米·巴特勒加盟迈阿密热火的连锁反应而受阻。若此次努力再度落空，公牛或将转战急需经验丰富中锋的球队，如密尔沃基雄鹿、波特兰开拓者或亚特兰大老鹰。倘若所有尝试均告失败，公牛队难免会产生今夏引援窗口失利的挫败感——至少短期内如此。

公牛队今年夏天主要对交易两名后卫持开放态度：鲍尔和科比·怀特。

随着鲍尔的交易尘埃落定，焦点转向怀特。这位2024年进步最快球员票选亚军上赛季场均贡献20.4分和4.5次助攻。公牛队已表现出略微倾向让吉迪担任首发后卫。而怀特即将进入第二份合同的最后一年，在其预期薪资再度大幅上涨前，他很可能成为交易筹码。

公牛队也愿意在合适的情况下交易帕特里克·威廉姆斯和阿约·多森姆。多森姆需要换回不错的回报，但作为交易筹码的一部分来送走武切维奇或争取库明加是可行的。威廉姆斯则因长期表现不佳而更难处理——最近他甚至被新秀马塔斯·布泽利斯取代了首发位置——但其年轻优势和身体条件仍可能引发一些球队的兴趣。

网址：Chicago Tribune Top News｜芝加哥公牛队自由球员市场动向前瞻：从约什·吉迪的合同谈判到乔纳森·库明加的转会传闻 https://mxgxt.com/news/view/1541882

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