There is still no official word on Taj Gibson’s fate with the Chicago Bulls though it is widely believed that the 30-year-old power forward is likely to end up wearing a new uniform for the coming 2015-16 NBA wars.
Gibson is someone who is believed to be likely out of the Bulls. The 26th overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft by the Bulls is seen as the odd man out for the coming season, seeing that Chicago is filled with players who play his position and cost less. He missed about four months last season to undergo arthroscopic surgery for his left ankle and the usual sixth man of the team found himself out of the mix.
Prior to injury, Gibson made a good account of himself coming off the bench and still managing to be among the league’s leading shotblockers back in the 2013-14 NBA season. In fact, Gibson finished second in the Sixth Man of the Year award which eventually went to Jamal Crawford.
Another thing to consider is that Gibson is reportedly not fit in the system that new head coach Fred Hoiberg has in mind. Given those information, the obvious indication is that Gibson will be heading out of Chicago soon.
Just last week, there were already rumors of two teams interested in acquiring Gibson. That included the Washington Wizards and the Los Angeles Lakers.
In Washington, Gibson will likely be elevated to a starting role as he teams up with John Wall and Bradley Beal to comprise the Wizards starting unit.
For the Lakers, landing Gibson could help toughen up their power forward line, an area that the team needs to address for the coming season. Being a known shotblocker, Gibson could be a perfect fit to head coach Byron Scott’s defensive plays should a deal materialize.
The latest team which could make do with Gibson are the Portland Trailblazers. With much of their stars gone, Gibson could start anew on the rebuilding Blazers quintet and possibly boost the chances of the team with a seemingly rag-tag lineup.
With LaMarcus Aldridge, Arron Afflalo, Robin Lopez and Wes Matthews gone, the Blazers are looking to create a new core of players heading into the new season.
To do that, however, the Blazers may have to give up some assets of its own. At the moment, the Blazers are a bit overcrowded in the forward position with Ed Davis, Aminu Al-Faroug, Noa Vonleh, Dorell Wright and Mo Harkless around. Could one of them be dangled as trade bait to Chicago?
For now, there are three rumored teams vying for Gibson but not one of them stands as the frontrunner as of this writing.