From the moment Bryson Graham began speaking about his vision for the team's future, the eyes of the Chicago Bulls community turned toward Josh Giddey.

The 23-year-old point guard is coming off a career-best season in the Windy City, but that hasn't stopped fans and analysts from wondering about his long-term outlook with the Bulls. Graham's SLAP acronym — Size, Length, Athleticism, Physicality — seems tailor-made for players like Matas Buzelis and projected No. 4 overall draft pick Caleb Wilson. Giddey doesn't quite fit that mold.

At 6-foot-7 and 216 pounds, Giddey is on the larger side for primary NBA ball-handlers. He doesn't have the defensive chops that Graham may be looking for, though, and amid an offseason of change, it shouldn't be surprising if the Bulls' new head executive decides to sell high on the fifth-year guard.

Last September, Giddey agreed to a four-year, $100 million contract to stay with the Bulls after ending his first season in Chicago with a strong stretch. He's the highest-paid player on the Bulls' roster, but Giddey's $25 million annual salary is tied for the 32nd-highest among NBA guards. That matches him with players like Denver's Christian Braun and Houston's Fred VanVleet, and Giddey is cheaper per year than guards like New Orleans' Jordan Poole and Phoenix's Jalen Green.

For a 23-year-old who averaged 17.0 points, 9.1 assists and 8.3 rebounds per game, Chicago has Giddey on a pretty good deal. The Australian guard also still has three years remaining on his contract, and if Giddey can continue the breakout that we saw at the beginning of last year, he could end up providing even more bang for his buck.

Giddey has shown that he can make highlight-reel plays and put up big numbers, but that hasn't yet translated to winning basketball. His contract is currently a valuable asset to the Bulls, but with the team just starting to enter its rebuild, Giddey's incredibly cheap contract could net a decent trade package from a team without much cap space.

It's hard to believe Graham would trade Giddey just for the sake of getting him off the team. Especially given the Bulls' lack of talent, it doesn't make sense for Chicago to enter the season with Buzelis and Wilson, but without someone to facilitate the ball to them. Tre Jones is talented in his own right — and turns the ball over significantly less than Giddey — but the 26-year-old is on a team-friendly contract and will certainly command positive trade value from a contender searching for depth.

The upcoming NBA Draft is loaded with high-upside guards, though most are widely predicted to be off the board by the time the Bulls pick at No. 15 overall. Assuming Chicago ends up with Wilson or Cameron Boozer at No. 4 and not sharpshooter Darryn Peterson, Graham would be in a tough spot to grab his point guard of the future 11 picks later.

Between the Nos. 5 and 9 overall picks in ESPN's latest mock draft are Illinois' Keaton Wagler (whom many are projecting off-ball in the NBA), Arkansas' Darius Acuff Jr., Houston's Kingston Flemings and Louisville's Mikel Brown Jr. If the Bulls can trade into that range and reset the timeline with a 19-to-20-year-old point guard to pair with their top-four pick, they'll set the foundation for a strong future.

After beginning the 2025-26 season on pace for his first career All-Star nod, Giddey's play plummeted over the back half of the year. Many used that drop off as justification that he had regressed to the mean, but the role that Giddey's injuries played should not be dismissed.

Prior to suffering a hamstring strain on Dec. 29, Giddey was shooting a career-best 38.6% from three while averaging 19.2 points, 9.0 assists and 8.9 rebounds per game across 30 starts. In his 24 appearances since that, Giddey's shooting dipped from 46.6% overall and 38.6% from deep to 42.0% and 34.1%, respectively. The large guard struggled to display the same burst he showed before, putting up 14.3 points per game in that timeframe.

The Bulls also went 6-18 during that stretch. While that wasn't entirely Giddey's fault — half the team was traded at the deadline — his play certainly didn't help.

Giddey also underwent ankle surgery following the conclusion of the season, signifying he was dealing with further underlying issues throughout the year.

Graham's evaluation of Giddey's future in Chicago will likely be dependent on each of these factors. The Bulls' lead decision-maker won't move off of Giddey without a good reason. He'll need to be certain that Giddey's poor play over the home stretch of the season was not an outlier and that the Bulls have a reasonable chance to draft his successor before pulling the plug.

Otherwise, Giddey will likely be a Chicago Bull when the season tips off in October. With some time to get healthy and a new core of young teammates to play alongside, Giddey may not find a better situation than the one he's in now.