The Chicago Bulls are still looking for some help on the roster at center and players like JaVale McGee, Kevin Seraphin, Greg Stiemsma, Justin Hamilton, Greg Smith or Jeff Withey are potential free agent options heading into camp to help back up Joakim Noah, as Nazr Mohammed is considering retirement and is likely not returning and this comes as the Bulls may consider a Taj Gibson trade this season.
The Bulls have a new head coach in Fred Hoiberg taking over for Tom Thibodeau and the team will have high expectations after signing back Jimmy Butler this offseason. Butler signed a max contract with the Bulls as a restricted free agent and the team is expecting Derrick Rose to stay healthy after making it through most of last season. According to Marc Stein at ESPN, the Bulls are still looking for some interior depth up front behind Noah, who is the only true center on the roster.
The Bulls have depth on the roster at forward with Nikola Mirotic emerging, Pau Gasol, Bobby Portis and Cameron Bairstow, while Cristiano Felicio has a training camp deal. The depth at forward could get the team to consider a Taj Gibson trade this season after his name came up in talks last year and it's likely they add at least one more center this summer. McGee has been getting interest from the Mavericks, but they just signed Samuel Dalembert and could be satisfied with their front court after also trading for Zaza Pachulia.
The Knicks are also interested in adding a big man and players like Greg Stiemsma and Justin Hamilton were mentioned as options by Ian Begley at ESPN New York. Stein reports that Seraphin is a target on the market for the Washington Wizards, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers and the Bulls. Dallas could be out of the mix for Seraphin after signing Dalembert and Pro Basketball Talk reports that the Wizards "would love" to have Seraphin back as an option behind Marcin Gortat.
McGee has dealt with injuries in the past couple seasons and has missed over 100 games in that time and he only played in 23 games last season, averaging 4.6 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. Gibson is likely going to be a trade target this season with the depth the Bulls have and according to the Chicago Tribune, Gibson could be in the trading block later this year. Gibson is making over $8 million in each of the next two seasons and his role on the team may not be justified by that salary anymore.
Gibson is coming off of ankle surgery and will be out for a few months and that could make him more of a target at the trade deadline. Gibson averaged 10 points and six rebounds per game last season. The Bulls made a number of moves this offseason to keep their team together, as they signed back Mike Dunleavy and Kirk Hinrich while also bringing back Aaron Brooks. Rose was healthy for most of the season and played in 51 games, but the team needs to have insurance for him on the bench and Brooks provided that last season.
