The Chicago Bulls may look different soon, as the team is reportedly shopping big men Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson. The premise behind looking to trade either of these two players is to find a wing player, something the Bulls seem to think they are lacking. This report comes from Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski on his new podcast, the Vertical:
Executives around the league, and people have told me, that the Bulls are very determined to add a talented wing player… and I’ve been told that the Bulls are open to…whether it’s Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson…maybe not both of them, but either of them if there’s a deal out there that they can bring in the best possible wing player available, they’re open to it… They need more shooting.
This is an interesting development in the Bulls’ organizational movement. The team is loaded in the frontcourt with Gibson and Noah (who is currently out with an injury) being joined by Pau Gasol, Nikola Mirotic, and promising rookie Bobby Portis. Meanwhile, they seem to believe that they lack consistent and quality depth on the wing, despite the presence of Jimmy Butler, Tony Snell, and Doug McDermott. However, the team has struggled to be consistent this season and it is probably not a title contender in its current form.
The Bulls do need some sort of shakeup. Whether that involves trading one of their long-tenured big men for a wing player who can shoot the ball or something else, it is clear this roster is not good enough at the moment. Another byproduct of trading either Gibson or Noah, or perhaps both, is opening up more playing time for Portis who has looked good in his brief appearances and who is someone that could be a part of the Bulls’ core going forward.
There is still almost two months remaining until the trade deadline. The Bulls, with their sudden public dysfunction and their lack of consistency, will be one team to pay attention to as that time nears.
