The Chicago Bulls have been off to a solid start this season, but with Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson and Jimmy Butler banged up and listed as probable for the game on Tuesday, the Bulls in the back of their minds may start thinking about trades in case someone significant goes down and one target could be Dion Waiters with the Cavaliers, as he was mentioned in trade rumors this past summer.
The Bulls have been dealing with injuries to start the season with Rose coming back from his serious injury and Jimmy Butler missing games and now the two are banged up coming into Tuesday night. According to Pro Basketball Talk, Butler and Rose along with Taj Gibson are listed as probable for the matchup with the Orlando Magic and there is a chance some of those players could sit for the matchup.
The Bulls were without Gibson and Rose in the matchup against the Timberwolves after dealing with ankle injuries and those were suffered in the home opening game against the Cavaliers. The team lost that matchup and now the Bulls may hold those players out again with the lowly Magic on the schedule. Butler was very good in place of Rose and Gibson, leading the team in scoring and they ended up with a one point win. Head coach Tom Thibodeau said that Rose was a participant in practice on Monday and there is a chance he could play even with the injury.
The Bulls have started the season 2-1 and they opened with a big win over the Knicks and that game saw Derrick Rose play limited minutes, but he was very effective. The Bulls have made some strong moves this summer to help if Rose gets injured or can't play as much, as they added Aaron Brooks, Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic along with Pau Gasol and all that could help a great deal offensively.
Last season Rose was lost again to a serious injury and the Bulls ended up as the worst offensive team by points per game in the league. The Bulls were the best defensively, but that offensive rank was one reason why they want hard after Carmelo Anthony in the offseason. The Bulls have a very strong team and many have picked them as the east champs or at least the final team with the Cavaliers in the east. Dion Waiters has been mentioned in trade talk this year and he could be an option for teams in need of some offense.
One of the most interesting races this year will be the central division and while division titles are not the same in the NBA as the NFL, the Cavs and Bulls both want that spot. LeBron James coming back to the division is huge and that is one reason why the Bulls likely will be careful with Rose and his minutes this season. Jimmy Butler will be a big factor and he led the way with 24 points in the game against the Timberwolves on Saturday night. The team is ranked sixth in points per game through three games and while that is a small sample size, it's a big improvement already from last season.
