- 7/9/2025
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00:00Go ahead. It was one of my infamous gaffes. I've had a few of them, but this is what the
00:07last interview sounded like with K.C. Johnson. Let's welcome in K.C. Johnson, writes for
00:13the Chicago Tribune, also works for NBC Sports Chicago. What's up, K.C.? How you doing?
00:19Stiney, I left the Tribune six years ago.
00:22Aw, man.
00:24All right.
00:24Never gets all Casey.
00:25Okay, let me get it right. Let's welcome in K.C. Johnson, Chicago.
00:30Chicago Bulls insider for the Chicago Sports Network.
00:35My man. He got it right.
00:37Sweet. What's up, K.C.? How you doing, man?
00:40How's life in the Bay Area? One of my favorite places in the country. I love that place.
00:44Yeah, it's doing well. We got stuff brewing with Jonathan Kaminga, a restricted free agent.
00:51He's one of the few that didn't get extended last summer. Josh Giddey of the Bulls also
00:57didn't get extended last summer. If I were to just say, hey, K.C., what's going on with
01:02Josh Giddey? How would you answer that?
01:05I would answer that he was the highest member of that draft class not to get extended last
01:12fall. So he beats Jonathan Kaminga in that department. But look, it's a slow, restricted
01:18free agency market for a lot of reasons, the biggest of which only the Brooklyn Nets had
01:25max salary cap space entering free agency. And they moved right into that with the acquisition
01:32of Michael Porter Jr. from the Denver Nuggets. So there's just not any offer sheets to sign
01:36out there. And obviously, sign and trade discussions can take place with teams. But I've heard very
01:42little on that front regarding either Josh Giddey or Jonathan Kaminga. And look, the Bulls are
01:48being smart. They recognize they have the power because they have matching rights. And they realize
01:54it's a slow-moving marketplace. And they're obviously trying to get him on a team-friendly
02:00deal. This is not to say that they don't like Josh Giddey because they do. They traded Alex Caruso
02:05for him. It's to say that they're trying to be prudent and judicious and smart as they enter
02:13this offseason. Casey, always a pleasure to talk to you, man. And I just got to share with you,
02:18what are the Bulls trying to do? Where are they at now? And I got a man crush on Kobe White. And I
02:24was telling Stony and the listeners here, one, your thoughts on Kaminga. And if they were to do some
02:31type of crazy sign and trade, how could the Bulls not want Kobe White? Well, I think the Bulls do want
02:38Kobe White. I think, you know, there's been some chatter about him being available. I have not heard
02:43that from the people that I've talked to. So, you know, he's in an interesting situation because
02:48he's outplayed the team-friendly deal that he's on that came out of his own restricted free agency
02:53a couple years ago. And the Bulls would love to extend him this offseason because the CBA rules
03:00prohibit Kobe from getting 140% or raised beyond 140%. So that would be another team-friendly
03:07deal. Kobe's not going to do that. He's going to hit unrestricted free agency next summer,
03:11but the Bulls still can re-sign him then. And everything I've been led to believe is that
03:14the Bulls still value him highly internally. Yeah, the Bulls are going through a change,
03:21obviously. It started with last summer with the trade of Caruso for Giddy and then the sign-and-trade
03:27of DeMar DeRozan, and then obviously move Zach Levine during the season. So they're trying
03:32to kind of retool on the fly, stay competitive, get younger, and rebuild that way. It's hard to do.
03:41They're kind of loosely using the Indiana Pacers as their role model, trying to build out a roster
03:469 or 10-D. But, you know, Pacers obviously have two dudes in Siakam and Halliburton. All of the
03:53latter, obviously, is in just a really sad situation right now. But I predict he'll come back. So we'll
03:58see. I mean, Kobe and Giddy are kind of the faces of the franchises. Modus Bozellus is another
04:04nice piece. And then we'll see where it goes.
04:07K.C. Johnson joining us on 95.7 The Game, Chicago Bulls insider for the Chicago Sports Network.
04:13It feels to me like over the last year or so, K.C., like the Warriors and Bulls have
04:19been linked, whether it's, you know, Levine's name came up out here, Lonzo Ball's name came
04:26up out here, and the name that's always come up out here is Vucevic. Where are the Bulls
04:33with him right now? I know he's got one more year left.
04:37Yeah, so I've been told, because you're absolutely right, Stiney, you know, these teams have
04:42been linked quite a bit in the last couple years. And I was told that before the Warriors
04:47moved in and realized they could get Butler, I heard that they were pretty, you know, in
04:53some pretty substantive talks with the Bulls regarding Levine, and that Vucevic might have
04:57even been involved in that deal. I've since heard that the Warriors' interest in Vucevic
05:02has cooled a little bit. I think he'd be a great fit there. You know, I don't know what
05:07kind of, you know, draft capital they have remaining to trade, because that's what the
05:10Bulls would be looking for in return. And here's the thing with Vuce, like, he's like
05:15the total pro, so he can handle being part of a competitive team, he can handle being
05:19part of a rebuilding team. But I do feel like there's a certain sense of obligation here
05:25and now within the Bulls franchise to kind of do right by Vuce and try to get him to a
05:30better place. Because, you know, Vuce is looking around going, wait, Caruso's gone,
05:35DeRosa's gone, Levine's gone, why am I still here? You know, so, but I do think,
05:41you know, he's available, but they're not just going to give him away, because he's a
05:44really good player, too. So, if the right deal comes along, they'll make that move.
05:49I just, you know, you guys know how this league is. Everything's fluid, right? But last I heard
05:53when I was talking to people around the draft combine, I heard that the Warriors' interest
05:57in Vucevic had cooled a little bit.
05:59Wow. And I think he can play. I'm curious here, Casey, this question I asked you, obviously,
06:04no right or wrong answer. But I'm a 70s baby, and I tell Stiney all the time, I'm used to
06:09players staying put and building something and losing and coming back and trying to extract
06:14revenge. But I can't ignore what guys like Sham Sharani have told us, you know, just last
06:20week. Boy, this is going to be a big free agency class and splash. And I got a lot of friends
06:25and fans disappointed. Can you walk us through, you know, hearing those reports and then what
06:32you saw? And if you care at all, they've just kind of been quite on the set this year
06:36in free agency.
06:37I don't mind it because, like, look, this league is cyclical to go through cycles. And
06:41right now, to me, what the cycle is, is this is the reaction to the new CBA. And I think
06:46it's less about, I think it's less about the apron. I mean, it's partly about the apron
06:50rules. I know Draymond Green recently opined that. What I would say is, to me, most teams
06:55are extending their own players. And that's a byproduct of this collective bargaining agreement.
06:59You're seeing these guys sign massive extensions with their own teams to stay put. And so I
07:06just don't think, like, the free agency class is as, you know, star-studded. And the days
07:11of, you know, ring hunting and star power and big three, those are kind of going by the wayside
07:17a little bit. And I also think, if you look at the last couple of seasons, like, huge names
07:23have been moved via the trade market. And so to me, like, that's another reaction to the
07:28new CBA. Like, the trade market has kind of become the new free agency. So, I mean,
07:34some massive names have been moved in the trade market. So, that's the way I view it. You
07:40know, there's still been some movement, not a lot, but it's mostly been guys signing extensions
07:45with their own teams.
07:46Yeah, Casey Johnson joining us on 95.7 The Game, Chicago Bulls insider for the Chicago
07:52Sports Network. Yeah, I want to wait to see next summer's free agency because I'm hearing
07:59that, you know, teams will have more money and the class is better. So, I don't know about
08:04you, but I'm willing to say this is a one-year thing until I see it continue for a couple more
08:09years.
08:09Yeah, for sure. I mean, like I said before, like, we all knew going into free agency, only
08:14Brooklyn had, you know, massive salary cap space. And the word run the league was that
08:19Brooklyn was going to kind of keep their powder dry and try to save some of their cap space
08:23for next year. Then they make the Michael Porter Jr. acquisition that ate up some of that cap
08:29space. So, they're not really major players anymore. But yeah, we haven't even gotten really
08:35to Kaminga yet. I've heard it slow. I mean, I've all along kind of thought he was going
08:39to go back there on a short-term deal. I don't know how much you guys probably talk about
08:43it a lot, but what's kind of your guys' thoughts on where Kaminga's going to be?
08:47Go ahead.
08:47Yeah, I mean, we talked to him ad nauseum, you know, and it's frustrating. And we have
08:52different opinion of him, Casey, but I was just going to ask you that. So, the guy fell
08:56out the rotation. Curry gets hurt and we're still sick with that hamstring blue. And here
09:01comes Kaminga. They don't win. But Casey, I'm watching those three or four games like you're
09:06telling me this guy doesn't fit or couldn't help another team. So, I feel like with the
09:10right toolage and opportunity, Kaminga could be a player. And I know he's not perfect, but
09:15that's the frustrating part. It looks like Kerr can't find a role for him. So, I don't
09:20know what's going to happen, but I'm telling Stiney and you, I want him to remain here.
09:25But how do you see it? Like, how did you take in his playoff performance? Did that change
09:29what you thought of him?
09:32My opinion, I mean, he's clearly played well. So, let's start there. But my opinion on him
09:37from afar, and obviously, you never know unless you cover a team, you know, you don't know
09:41how it works on the inside, right? So, this is just my opinion from afar. He's clearly skilled.
09:46He's clearly athletic. I don't know if, like, he's the most instinctive basketball player.
09:53And I don't know if he can thrive in a team system. I think he's kind of
09:57more like an athlete who, like, just shines individually. And I don't know. That's just
10:03my impression from afar. I don't know if I'm right. And I, again, don't cover him on a daily
10:07basis. I don't want to speak ill on the guy. I think, I agree. I think he's clearly skilled
10:10in the right opportunity. He might be a very good player. You know, he'd been linked to the Bulls
10:15some. I never bought into that. And the off-season moves the Bulls have made,
10:19to me, have said that even more strongly. Like, they've traded for Isaac Okoro,
10:25and they've drafted a young wing in Noah Essenge from France, who's obviously a project at 18 and
10:31a half years old. But yeah, I'm curious to see where Kaminga goes. And at this point, I expect
10:38to be back with Golden State, and it's up to them to try to figure out how to make it work there.
10:42KC Johnson joining us on 95.7 The Game, Bulls insider for the Chicago Sports Network.
10:47I mean, you know, having covered the league forever, or for a long time, you and me,
10:54like, how, what's going to be the impetus? Let's just talk about Giddy. What, what is going
10:59to be the impetus to him either, you know, getting a deal or, or getting moved? Like, what, what
11:08is going to be the thing that moves this thing? And I would assume it'll work for Kaminga, too.
11:12Yeah. Yeah. I mean, my, my, my feeling is like what there's that stat Bobby Marks has
11:17been touting lately. Like only three players have signed a qualifying offer. I played on
11:22a qualifying offer in the last five years. I mean, the Bulls have all the leverage here.
11:27He's a restricted free agent. So my sense of how negotiations are going is, you know,
11:32it's pretty well documented. Giddy saw the Suggs, Jalen Suggs deal and, and wanted $30 million
11:37as well, because he went one pick behind him and they're not similar players, but have
11:42similar, you know, standing within the organization. And I've just never heard the, that number
11:48associated from the Bulls end. So like, he's not getting 30 million this off season from
11:52the Bulls. I'll tell you that. It would take another team to want to sign him to a $30 million
11:57deal for him to get that. And then the Bulls to agree to assign a trade. The Bulls don't have
12:01to do anything. They can say, here's the number, here's generational wealth for four or five
12:06years. Do you want that? Or do you want to play on the qualified offer of $11 million
12:11and risk it? I mean, that's, that's what restricted free agency is all about. I'm assuming the
12:16Warriors are having similar conversations with Jonathan Kaminga's representatives. That's
12:21just the reality of it, especially in this marketplace, which as we've talked about on this
12:26segment has been pretty scarce and pretty slow moving. So the Bulls were really proactive
12:32in extending Patrick Williams in restricted free agency to a five-year, $90 million deal.
12:39I all along said that even though he's been an underachieving player and a player who's
12:44had trouble staying healthy, I was less hung up on $18 million a year. I didn't really mind
12:49that, especially with the rising salary cap. I didn't love the five years and now year and
12:54year two of that deal and that contract already can't be moved. So that's kind of why the Bulls
13:01are now even more like, all right, we learned from that one. We've got to, we've got to hold
13:05to our guns here and just play a hard ball when you don't want to alienate the guy either. Cause
13:10I want to emphasize like the biggest point of this, like they traded Alex Caruso for him.
13:15They like Josh Giddey. They like how he played the second half of last season, but they also
13:22don't want to just go, here's five years, $150 million. So like Kaminga, I think this will stretch
13:28out a little bit. It already has. And, uh, we'll see where both teams end up. Is it one of those,
13:34uh, Casey domino effects? We see Giddey signed and then you see, cause something happened with
13:40Kaminga and the rest of the unrestricted free agents. Maybe. I mean, I don't know the Warriors
13:44books as well as I know the Bulls books. Um, but I assume again, with restricted free agency,
13:49that's kind of in general, how it goes. Like a team goes, Hey, do you want this much guaranteed
13:55money over four years? Cause this is the number we're not budging from. And if you don't like
13:59it, then play on the qualifying offer. That's just how teams roll. So again, I don't, I don't
14:05know the Warriors books or tax situation as well as I, I know the Bulls. Um, but I guarantee
14:11you, uh, right now the Bulls are not offering $30 million a year to Josh Giddey. Wow. And
14:16I think we can say the same thing out here about Jonathan Kaminga. Hey, Casey, really appreciate
14:22it, man. And, uh, I hope you've forgiven me and I'll get it right. I'll get it right
14:26from here on out. Yeah. Now that you can, I mean, I liked you before, but now you got
14:30it right. You have me back anytime, man. I'm all yours. There you go. I wanted to clear
14:35something up, but I'll let him go. Cause I know he's busy. Oh yeah. All right. Thanks
14:40for doing this. Yeah. Thanks you, buddy. Later.
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