Taj Gibson survived an entire offseason of trade rumors. The Chicago Bulls were in hot pursuit of Kevin Love at the start of the summer and were willing to offer up some of their best reserves to get the Minnesota Timberwolves forward. After putting up stats that had many believing he should have one Sixth Man of the Year, gibson's stock was high and the Bulls looked poised to take advantage of it. However, all deals were denied and Love went to Cleveland. Could Gibson still be on the trade block?
The issue for Gibson is Pau Gasol. The backup forward/center was hoping to get bumped up to a starting role after the departure of Carlos Boozer, but now it looks like he is back to the bench because of the signing of Gasol. Instead of getting a starting job, Gibson is facing trade rumors yet again and could be dealt by the mid-season deadline.
According to Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders, Gibson is poised to be a mid-season trade as a number of players will be looking for size to carry them into the playoffs. Davis believes that if the Bulls are going to do any dealing, it will be with Gibson and not someone like Jimmy Butler who was also mentioned in offseason rumors. Talented, young big men are rare in this league and Gibson has proved he can be a difference maker and stay healthy which makes him a perfect trade piece. If he can continue his upward trend, the Bulls could get something solid in return for him.
Gibson has denied the rumors for most of the offseason and he even tweeted out that he was ok with his role on the team whether it was starting or coming off the bench. Gibson tweeted, "I like coming off the bench tho!!! Starting or coming off the bench really doesn't matter. Please miss me with the drama #See Red #BullsNation."
Gibson certainly deserves a starting job. He outplayed Carlos Boozer for most of last season. However, the Bulls have hyped Gasol up as their big get this offseason, ruining Gibson's chances to start. The other issue is that the Bulls bought in on Nikola Mirotic which makes the power forward position even more crowded for Gibson. There will be interest in Gibson if he is available, but the Bulls will want a lot in return so teams must be willing to make a significant offer to get the forward.
