Taj Gibson not worried about contract extension, focused on the challenge ahead – NBA News
Taj Gibson is one of the talented players on the Chicago Bulls bench, who has made a name for himself in the three years he has been in NBA.
Gibson is known for his defensive capabilities, and can also score points on a daily basis. Last season, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau used him effectively at the forward position, and there were even calls by some sports analysts to start Gibson ahead of Carlos Boozer.
Next season will be Gibson’s fourth in the NBA and the final of his contract with the Bulls. Gibson, who is regarded as a great find by the Bulls front office, is expecting a contract extension from the team, but has nothing concrete to talk about at the moment.
He however says that he is not worried about that situation and wants to concentrate on improving his game in the offseason.
"They're talking about that stuff now. I'm not even thinking about that. A lot of people always talk about that all year long, all season long. I don't really worry about it. I won't really be thinking about it. I'm just going out there and playing my game,” said Gibson.
Gibson is expected to take on a larger role next season since Bulls All Star point guard Derrick Rose will miss much of the next season with an ACL knee injury. He has the confidence of the coaching staff and the front office, indicated by the fact that when the Bulls decided to completely reshape their bench during the summer, Gibson was one of the few players the Bulls were not willing to let go.
The Bulls lost Kyle Korver, C.J. Watson, Ronnie Brewer and Omer Asik in the offseason. They made up for those players by adding Kirk Hinrich, Marco Belinelli, Nazr Mohammed and Vladimir Radmanovic.
Gibson admits that it is slightly difficult to accept that the former “bench mob” he was part of is no longer intact. However, he feels these things are part of the NBA.
“I was just with Ronnie in New York. It’s crazy to think he's a New York Knick now, C.J.'s a Brooklyn Net, Omer's in Houston, Kyle is in Atlanta. It was just so crazy because our bench was so talented. It's sad, but things like that happen all the time,” said Gibson.
Gibson recently returned to Chicago from California and plans to begin practice on Tuesday at the Berto Center. He says that he is optimistic about the next season, even though they will be playing much of it without their leader and leading scorer.
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