NBA Rumors: Chicago Bulls should hang on to Jimmy Butler & Taj Gibson
The Chicago Bulls are in the market to acquire a superstar and expected to heavily pursue both New York Knicks’ star Carmelo Anthony and Minnesota Timberwolves’ power forward Kevin Love.
More from Chicago Bulls
- NBA Rumors: Warriors, Lakers among contenders for key free agent
- 3 players Bulls can sign with Disabled Player Exception
- NBA free agency: The 3 biggest losers in this offseason so far
- The new NBA flopping rules explained
- 5 players Sixers could acquire in Harden deal to stay competitive
Of course with the giant contract of Derrick Rose and the hefty deal Joakim Noah has, that could mean losing a few good pieces to have enough cap space to afford a player like Anthony or Love.
Sam Smith of Bulls.com believes the Bulls should do what they can to hang on to Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson.
"That’s the problem with not having a deep roster. It’s also the Carmelo issue the Knicks had. Yes, it’s great to get a star, but it’s a team game. The Knicks gave up so much for Anthony that they weren’t able to compete for a title, and then if anything went wrong there was no longer any margin for error. Every team wants to add talent, and so do the Bulls. Maybe you can win with three stars and role players. But Miami had the best player in the league. LeBron makes up for a lot. Love isn’t that kind of player, and we don’t know if Derrick Rose will be that again. He says he will and we all hope he will. The Bulls would miss Taj Gibson and Jimmy Butler if they were not with the team, especially because both Love and Anthony are regarded as weak and indifferent defenders."
Butler averaged 13.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game last season while Gibson put up 13.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 assists per game.