Taj Gibson could be on Bulls’ trading block

[Johnnydollaz89]

NEW ORLEANS — No one is safe.

And for a team with big dreams for its roster, no one on the Bulls’ roster should be.

That’s what the Luol Deng trade to the Cavaliers last month symbolized to his former teammates. If Deng could go, well, rent in *Chicago, don’t buy.

“I’ve always kind of had that [mentality],” veteran guard Kirk Hinrich said Friday. “From the first time that I started hearing rumors, it really made clear that the possibility of being moved is there. You just try and do the best you can with the situation you’re in.

“But enjoy this. Enjoy the situation we’re in moving forward because it’s exciting. Just try not to worry about things you can’t control.”

That’s hard to do with the calendar flipped and the Feb. 20 trade deadline looming.

Hinrich and Mike Dunleavy have been churning in the rumor mill for more than a month. Now Taj *Gibson’s name is picking up steam. What the Bulls do with him could determine how serious they are in clearing salary-cap space for a max contract to land a player such as Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James.

According to a source, the Lakers, Wizards and Bobcats have inquired about Gibson, but they were preliminary talks in which the Bulls didn’t like the return.

Moving Gibson would signify the Bulls’ determination to give *Derrick Rose a second superstar to play with.

The Bulls probably will use the amnesty clause on Carlos Boozer’s contract this summer. It calls for him to make $16.8 million next season. That makes moving Gibson all but a necessity if the Bulls want to stay under the luxury tax and add a max deal. Gibson will make $8 million next season, $8.5 million in 2015-16 season and $8.95 million in the final year of the contract.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/25302...ing-block.html

Well we all know Boozer is gone in the off-season. I think moving Taj isn't a smart move to make.