Bulls trade Gibson, McDermott to OKC
This was a transaction that seems a little lopsided on paper.
Just before the trade deadline struck Thursday, the Chicago Bulls sent a valuable starter, Taj Gibson, and Doug McDermott, the No. 11 pick of the 2014 draft, to Oklahoma City. Gibson will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
In return, the Bulls received point guard Cameron Payne, the No. 14 pick of the 2015 draft, along with power forward Joffrey Lauvergne and veteran shooting guard Anthony Morrow.
“The reason we did this, we feel this is consistent with what we talked about last year, as we redevelop this roster, the chance to get younger is important to us,” said Bulls vice president of basketball operations John Paxson on Thursday evening at the Advocate Center.
The key to the deal is clearly Payne, 22. The Bulls have struggled to find a good match at point guard to fit with Butler and Dwyane Wade. The team believes the 6-foot-3 Payne may be the point guard of the future. Paxson said the Bulls made an effort to trade up in the 2015 draft to take Payne.
The Murray State product didn't play a lot as a rookie, averaging 5.0 points. This season he suffered a broken foot early in training camp and didn't play his first game until Jan. 7.
His numbers aren't great this season, but it's tough to judge after he missed the entire preseason, then more than two months of the regular season. He's also playing behind Russell Westbrook, which provides limited opportunity.
“He needs time and he needs minutes,” Paxson said.
Morrow, 31, has long been regarded as a quality outside shooter. He has shot better than 40 percent from 3-point range in five of his 10 NBA seasons. This year he has shot just 29.4 percent from behind the arc in limited minutes.
Lauvergne, 25, is a native of France playing his third NBA season. He averaged 7.9 points for Denver last year, so he's a guy who should vie for time at power forward.
Morrow and Lauvergne can come off the books after this season, while Payne makes a relatively low $2.1 million next season. So by not re-signing their own free agents, the Bulls could have a little more than $30 million to spend in free agency this summer.
If you want to think big, feel free to imagine the Los Angeles Clippers' Blake Griffin or Atlanta's Paul Millsap filling that power-forward spot, but at this point there's no telling what might happen. Paxson talked about not having many long-term commitments on the payroll, and there could be a series of small steps ahead.
“We've got 25 games left to play,” Paxson said. “We'll get into the off-season after that. I expect our guys to compete and fight and play the right way, Make the playoffs, don't make the playoffs, we'll determine then what our next step is.”
Paxson also confirmed there was never much chance of Jimmy Butler leaving in a trade. There were rumors of Boston making a run, but one report claimed the Celtics never even offered the 2017 Brooklyn first-round draft pick, which figured to be a minimum requirement for the Bulls.
Paxson mentioned several times that a result of this trade will be more playing time for rookie Denzel Valentine and second-year forward Bobby Portis, who may take Gibson's starting spot.
“We talked to (coach) Fred Hoiberg today,” Paxson said. “We need Cam to play, we need Denzel to play, we need Bobby to play. He understands that, and he's on board. That's all a part of this process we're going through.”
Paxson also praised Gibson, who was the longest-tenured Bulls player with eight seasons under his belt.
“Taj has been one of the best people that we've ever had in this organization,” Paxson said. “He's classy, professional, competitive. I love everything about him.”
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Bulls vs. Phoenix Suns at the United Center, 7 p.m. Friday
TV: WGN
Radio: WLS 890-AM
Outlook: The Bulls lost in Phoenix two weeks ago 115-97, one of their more disappointing performances of the season. The Suns (18-39) haven't been very good and have dropped 10 of their last 13 games. PG Eric Bledsoe is the Suns' top scorer at 21.6 ppg, followed closely by SG Devin Booker at 21.1. Booker scored 27 against the Bulls on Feb. 10. Former Bulls C Tyson Chandler ranks eighth in the league with 11.4 rebounds per game. Phoenix gives up the second-most points in the league (112.4). The Bulls are the only opponent in the last 20 games that failed to score 100 against the Suns.
Next: Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena, 7:30 p.m. Saturday
— Mike McGraw