The Chicago Bulls have been hit by the injury bug recently, and with the trade deadline coming up you would think that would make them a little bit more active. In most cases, a team with title hopes would look to trades if they have been ravaged by injuries, but that doesn't look like it will be the case for the Bulls. It was previously reported that Pau Gasol had been taken off the trading block, and now it looks like the Bulls will hold on to Taj Gibson as well, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.
Earlier in the season the Bulls had a logjam in the frontcourt, as they had five big guys they wanted to play but only enough minutes for four. Because of that, the Bulls were exploring trade opportunities for Gasol, Joakim Noah and Gibson. The main reason behind potentially trading one of these big men was so the Bulls could get their promising rookie Bobby Portis consistent minutes.
Portis has gotten his consistent minutes anyway, as Noah was lost for the season after having shoulder surgery and Nikola Mirotic had an appendectomy that is expected to keep him out until the All-Star break. The Bulls have completely changed their tune in terms of trades, as they now hope to re-sign Gasol and will likely hold onto Gibson. All along, the Bulls reportedly preferred to trade Noah, as he is the least likely to be with the team next season, but Chicago was willing to listen to offers for Gibson and Gasol as well.
Unlike Noah and Gasol, Gibson is not set to become a free agent after this season. The 30-year-old power forward is under contract for about $9 million next season, but the Bulls saw him as expendable. Now with all of the injuries, though, it is being reported that the odds of Gibson staying in Chicago for the rest of this season have "increased greatly."
It is unclear what Gibson would have been able to fetch on the trade market, but he is having a solid season for the Bulls. The six-year veteran has started the majority of Chicago's games (28 out of 46) and is averaging 7.7 points and 7.2 rebounds so far.
