Australian basketball star Josh Giddey is in a contract stand-off with his NBA franchise, the Chicago Bulls.

Negotiations have dragged on for months, but it emerged this week the restricted free agent is seeking a $45 million-a-season deal, while the Bulls are playing hardball and are refusing to budge on a four-year deal worth $30 million a season, league sources told the Stein Line.

Stand-off: Josh Giddey and the Bulls are at loggerheads over a new contract for the Australian Boomers’ star.Credit: AP

NBL great Lanard Copeland, who also spent time in the NBA, said the Bulls must sign Giddey, the son of his former Melbourne Tigers’ teammate, Warwick Giddey.

“The fans fell in love with him. What he brings to the table, the Bulls cannot afford to let go. Yes, these contracts are enormous these days. But, if you don’t sign a player like that, someone else will. You don’t want to lose a guy like that,” Copeland said on Wednesday.

Should the Melbourne-born playmaker win this battle, he will be one of the highest-paid Australian athletes of any sport.

Giddey’s bid for a major increase comes at a time when teams are increasingly cramped by the NBA’s new two-apron tax system, which imposes financial and trade restrictions on teams that spend above certain levels. This has led to multiple teams looking to shed salaries to avoid penalty.

Cap........

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