The Chicago Bulls are one of the best teams in the NBA this season and if Derrick Rose has a serious injury, the team could consider a trade with Taj Gibson or Jimmy Butler for some extra help and this comes after the quotes from Rose sparked some backlash.
Rose caused a bit of a stir with some of the comments he made this week about his past injuries, his playing time and his future and while that made many fans and media members mad, his teammates defended him. Noah and Gasol came out to defend Rose and so did his team overall and Rose himself said he wasn't worried about the backlash of the comments. The Bulls have spent two years dealing with Rose being out and that is one reason why they would be prepared this time around if it happened again.
Rose said he was speaking honestly and he is not worried about the backlash from the comments. Rose said that he always plays hard when he is on the court and that the last two years have been tough while dealing with injuries. Rose said his long term health is important and that's also important for the Bulls franchise and not just himself.
The Bulls made moves by adding Doug McDermott, Gasol and Nikola Mirotic as well as Aaron Brooks and that should help if Rose goes down again. According to Marc Stein at ESPN.com, the team also could consider trading Jimmy Butler or Taj Gibson if something serious happens. These team has a deep enough roster and bench to get by, but after Gibson was mentioned in rumors with Kevin Love this summer and the team didn't agree on an extension with Butler by the deadline, those possibilities could come up around the deadline if Rose goes down.
Butler is currently leading the team in scoring and while the Bulls and Butler have both said that they want to stick together, there is a chance the team trades him in the future. The Bulls have a deep roster and right now they look like the best team in the east, but if Rose goes down all of that could change. Gibson is a great player to have behind Gasol, but since the team has Gasol and Joakim Noah, they likely could afford to make a move, although they are not looking to do that right now.
The Bulls are currently first in their division and while the Cavaliers have been uneven to start the season, no one expects that to continue. The Bulls are 6-2 and they just won over the Pistons and in that game Rose had 24 points and seven assists, while Pau Gasol was tops with 15 rebounds. The Bulls have the Pacers coming up after playing the 7-1 Raptors and Toronto has been one of the early surprises this season. The Bulls are considered to be one of the favorites in the east and if Rose is healthy there is no reason why the team can't challenge the Cavaliers to win the east.
