Chicago Bulls power forward Taj Gibson. (Photo : Getty Images)
Following the Derrick Rose trade, the Chicago Bulls are now officially in the middle of a major roster overhaul and with the impending free-agency and rumored exit of its top two big men, Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah, head coach Fred Hoiberg and his crew have a lot of moves to do to form a new frontcourt lineup.
If Gasol and Noah indeed leave Chicago this summer, Hoiberg will be left with only Taj Gibson, Nikola Mirotic, Bobby Portis, and Cristiano Felicio in the interior, with Robin Lopez coming in from the Rose trade with the New York Knicks.
The good thing, however, is the two top centers will leave a lot of salary cap space for the team to take advantage of, which means that the Bulls would have to be wise on how to spend it.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the 31-year-old Gibson is currently on the Bulls' trading block as Chicago has been "talking to several teams about the possibility of moving" the 6-foot-9 backup power forward in the offseason.
Gibson is coming into the final season of his four-year, $33 million deal with the Bulls which will earn him $8.95 million in 2016-2017. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
The former USC standout is said to be the odd man out in Chicago's current frontcourt lineup and the team may look for a much younger player in the said position and may even target a natural center.
Analysts believe that with Gibson gone, Hoiberg could concentrate more on developing his younger forwards, such as Mirotic and Portis, by giving them more playing time and opportunities on the court.
Chicago would just have to be wise in what they would get in return as Gibson is known to be a solid backup power forward that provides quality minutes and numbers.
Meanwhile, NBC Sports' Kurt Helin indicated that with Rose gone, Gibson is now the "best trade piece they have outside Butler" as he can bring a lot to the table, such as solid defense, rim protection, and efficient but not ball-hogging scoring, which are ideal traits of a role player.
Helin noted that Chicago is expected to "take a step back this coming season, but hopefully start to develop a team identity around Butler and Hoiberg". Rebuilding or retooling indeed takes some time to succeed as the new members also need time to fully gel together.
