Chicago Bulls' Bobby Portis (L) and Taj Gibson. (Photo : Getty Images)
The Chicago Bulls' steal in the 2015 NBA Draft, 6-foot-11 Bobby Portis, is having an impressive preseason so far and is getting the nod of new head coach Fred Hoiberg. With the 20-year-old rookie's current stellar performance, the team is reportedly planning to dangle veteran power forward Taj Gibson to interested teams as he becomes a surplus in their frontcourt rotation.
A quick look at Chicago's depth chart will make one see that they are heavy at the 4 and 5 positions with the emergence of Nikola Mirotic and the presence of veterans Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah.
Fansided reported that Portis is "averaging 12.2 points per game" in the preseason, which is "fifth overall for rookies." Of course, he is getting these numbers because of the minutes Hoiberg is giving him thus far.
If Hoiberg wants to further develop Portis, then he would need to give him enough playing time in the regular season, which means that Gibson would be a very expensive bench player in the process.
An article by Basketball Insiders' Joel Brigham mentioned that the 30-year-old, 6-foot-9 Gibson has become "expendable" for the Bulls now that the 22nd overall selection is around. The write-up also said that the team should consider trading the six-year veteran to address their other positional needs, such as the small forward and shooting guard spots, instead of letting him rot on the bench.
Jimmy Butler is the only reliable two-way player for the Bulls at the 2 and 3 spots and they need someone similar who can back him up.
There are also suggestions that Chicago needs a pure shooter who could also defend to space the floor and start at shooting guard, allowing Butler to slide to his more comfortable spot at small forward.
What is evident in all this is that the Bulls has a valuable trade chip to further strengthen their lineup and become a legitimate playoff contender in April next year. It's only up to them when do they want to use it.
