The Chicago Bulls kick off their season Wednesday night with raised expectations. The team has a championship on the brain as Derrick Rose returns healthy to the team. The Bulls attempted to make several offseason moves during the height of free agency, but most did not get finalized including deals for Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James. That has not lowered the team's confidence, but might open the door for a trade sooner rather than later.
Taj Gibson cannot escape the trade rumors. The power forward is not a free agent until 2017, but that is not stopping the rumor mill from considering him available. The Bulls did not help things out by including him in a potential deal to land Kevin Love in a trade before the NBA Draft. They also loaded up on size in the offseason, bringing on Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic that is sure the decrease the minutes of Gibson and makes him expendable. Gibson believes that depth will only help the Bulls and not encourage deals.
KC Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reports that Gibson believes the Bulls have the best bench in the league and that during practices, the second unit is constantly beating starters. That type of play bodes well for Gibson and his future whether it is with the Bulls or elsewhere. The forward has established himself as one of the better big mans in the league and his stock should only continue to rise during the year.
One thing the Bulls are not prepared for is injuries. Prior to the season beginning, they already have two issues brewing. In training camp, the Chicago Tribune reported that Joakim Noah was dealing with a nagging knee injury that could bother him for the duration of the season. Noah is vital to the Bulls' success and having him limited for any period of time is certainly not ideal. Noah is expected to play a lot of minutes for Chicago this year and his injury could force players like Gibson into the spotlight.
Jimmy Butler is another player that is starting his year out on not ideal terms. The shooting guard was expected to start, but a thumb injury has knocked him out for the next two to four weeks. Butler is in a contract year and has been fighting for an extension with Chicago. However, the two sides are on opposite sides of negotiations with no end in sight. Butler could be getting the Luol Deng treatment which means he is at risk of being a mid-season trade for the team.
"I think we're going to figure it out," Butler said, via ProBasketballTalk.com. "My main focus is now of all time is to get healthy. If you're healthy, you'll get paid anyway. That's all I'm worried about it."