Having put together a revamped roster this offseason, questions still remain regarding what the Chicago Bulls should do about Taj Gibson.
Give credit where it is due: the Chicago Bulls did a tremendous job of making moves this summer.
Even if some of the signings are questionable. Even if not everyone will end up getting along. One thing cannot be taken away from the organization: Chicago got to work.
And between drafting Denzel Valentine, saying goodbye to Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, and welcoming aboard Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade … fans certainly have a lot to be excited about.
However, there are still questions to be answered about the future of this team.
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For example, what should the Bulls do about Taj Gibson?
At the age of 31, Gibson is no longer a spring chicken. And despite only having been in the league for seven years, most seem to consider him a veteran, a guy with more days behind him than left in his professional career.
Now whether this will turn out to be the case or not, is still up in the air.
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On the one hand, Gibson appears to have had plenty of gas left in his tank during the 2015-16 season. Having competed in 73 regular-season games, the forward finished the year averaging 8.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 blocks on 26.5 minutes of play.
In fact, in comparison to the rest of the squad, the forward was rock solid.
Gibson missed only nine games, starting in 55, the most of his career since his rookie season. He also made sure to improve his offensive skills, no longer shying away from the likes of mid-range jumpers.
This helped tremendously after Nikola Mirotic not only failed to develop as quickly as expected, but also fell victim to injury.
So although Gibson may not have embraced stardom like teammate Jimmy Butler, he was still as deserving of praise.
But on the other hand, Gibson has been at the center of Chicago trade rumors for many months now. A sign that usually indicates a player’s time with an organization, will soon be coming to an end.
And in some ways, dealing away Gibson may actually make sense for the Bulls.
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The front office already neglected their plan to become younger and more athletic, when they signed both Rondo and Wade. Obviously, keeping Gibson around would not exactly help their cause either.
On top of this, guys like Doug McDermott and Bobby Portis have shown a good deal of improvement this offseason.
So with Gibson getting older and his offensive numbers actually having decreased over the last couple of years, Chicago would likely choose to rely more so on their younger shooters. Especially considering there is further work that can be done to bring out such potential.
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The Bulls could go either way on the issue of Gibson. While quality, veteran leadership is invaluable both on and off of the court, the organization may indeed seek younger talent to represent the team moving forward.