Bobby Portis' impressive summer league performance only means he's ready to contribute right away in that loaded Chicago Bulls front-court. The bad news is there may not be playing time left with all these bigs, unless someone gets moved before the start of training camp.
According to NBA Sr. Writer Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report, the Bulls appear to be poised to make another move before they start their campaign for the 2015-16 NBA season.
In his bold predictions for next season, he expected the Bulls front-office to trade at least one of the three frontcourt mainstays from last season - Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson - to address a much-needed depth at wing position and give Portis the time he needed for his development.
"Another move that could be made is with the Chicago Bulls and their frontline." Bucher said during a discussion on Bleacher Report. "Now that their rookie Bobby Portis has demonstrated that he's capable right away of contributing on both ends of the floor, the Bulls have a surplus of expensive big men and they are all over the cap."
Bucher believed the Bulls will seriously look into the possibility of trading one of their big men, especially if they are presented an opportunity to improve their wing position.
Moving one of these players would be beneficial for Portis, who turned heads in his summer league debut after putting up 23 points and 7 rebounds. He finished his Summer League campaign with a 25-points, 15-board (NBA Summer League stats) tally against the Phoenix Suns, making him one of the stars in the Las Vegas joust.
While all these players would draw massive interest right away if placed on trading block, the 30-year old Gibson appear to be the most likely trade candidate because he doesn't fit into Fred Hoiberg's stretch four requirement and he has the cheapest paycheck of the three at $8 million.
Gibson has been linked to the Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers, but there could be more suitors once he become available.