Taj Gibson talking with Bulls management about contract extension – NBA News
The Chicago Bulls are talking to their rising power forward, Taj Gibson, over a contract extension. Gibson in going to start his fourth year in a month’s time, which means the Bulls can sign him on a contract extension, much like
they did with Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah.
The Bulls need to sign him by October 31st, otherwise he will become a restricted free agent next summer. Chicago went through an ordinary offseason, not making any big acquisitions or trades to pair with their All-Star
guard Rose and make them title contenders once again.
Their inability to recruit talent during the summer has left many fans wondering if they will be willing to pay Gibson the money he wants in order to keep him.
“It’s something we’ve been talking about for a while. Gar and I have been putting a lot of work in. Taj would love to be a Bull for a long time, there’s no question about that,” said Gibson’s agent, Mark Bartelstein while talking
to CSNChicago.com.
The Bulls are apparently happy with the performance of Gibson over the past few seasons. He has grown over the course of his career and last season was his best, where he played well as a back up and also showed tremendous defensive
and rebounding skills. He was also part of the Select Team that scrimmaged with Team USA in Las Vegas as part of their training camp before the London Olympics, and received good reviews from his time there.
If Gibson becomes a free agent, he is sure to attract a lot of team and if he has a good 2012-2013 season, he might become more expensive for the Bulls than he would be now.
Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com reported:
“Privately, the Bulls’ brain trust values Gibson very highly and acknowledge he’s a keeper, but if Gibson and the Bulls don’t agree to terms by Halloween, he’ll hit the open market next summer, albeit as a restricted free agent.
Gibson won’t lack for suitors if he becomes a free agent, especially after raising his profile with another strong postseason performance.”
The Bulls are looking to have salary cap space in 2014, which is the year they are looking to sign a superstar to pair with Rose. Hence, they are being very careful on money. But at the same time, they would get Gibson cheap now,
rather than wait for him to get offers from other teams.
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