Report: Bulls open to trading Noah, Gibson for wing player
Despite sporting a respectable 15-11 record, it's no secret that the Chicago Bulls are struggling.
The Bulls, a team widely expected to challenge for Eastern supremacy, boast the 27th-ranked offense and are outscoring opponents by a mere 0.8 points per game. They've also dropped three straight - including embarrassing losses to the Knicks and Nets.
As a result, Chicago is looking to shuffle the lineup by swapping out a frontcourt player for a wing, as Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski noted on The Vertical podcast.
Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk transcribed Wojnarowski's report:
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.
ESPN's Zach Lowe, who was recently in Chicago, said he heard something similar.
The Bulls are chock-full of frontcourt talent, and so the thinking might be that they could afford to lose a piece. They're already struggling to find enough playing time for their players, and two key pieces in Noah and Pau Gasol are on expiring contracts.
A trade for a solid wing could help their cause. Tony Snell remains a part-time player at best, Doug McDermott provides little besides 3-point shooting, and Mike Dunleavy remains sidelined with injury. Bringing in a two-way player to flank Jimmy Butler on the wing could have a significant impact.
However, shipping a frontcourt player might be difficult.
For one, Noah's injured, and moving a fan favorite (even if he's having another down year) will be difficult. Trading Gasol would rob Chicago of its only reliable interior scorer. Nikola Mirotic is primarily a stretch-four, but his jump shot remains wonky, and rookie Bobby Portis figures to be a valuable piece for Chicago going forward.
That leaves Gibson, who's on a reasonable $8.5-million contract and remains an effective hustle big. But then again, it's hard to imagine that a team would be willing to part with a talented wing just to bring back a power forward who can't shoot, especially in the era of pace and space.
Either way, it seems like the Bulls are looking to make a change as they continue their search for a tangible team identity.