Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson said Thursday he remains optimistic a contract extension can be worked out before the Oct. 31 deadline for fourth-year players. "I'm hopeful," Gibson said. "I'm always hopeful. This is where I want to stay, this is where I hopefully want to retire one day. So we'll have to wait and see." Gibson's agent, Mark Bartelstein, told ESPNChicago.com on Thursday that talks are ongoing. If a deal is not worked out by the deadline, Gibson would become a restricted free agent at the end of the season, and the Bulls might face a similar situation they went through this past summer with Omer Asik, who decided to sign an offer sheet with the Houston Rockets that the Bulls did not match. Gibson, who likely would command between $8-10 million a year in any new deal, says the negotiations have not been on his mind. "I haven't even really thought about it to tell you the truth," he said. "The last couple days I haven't even heard any ... that's the last thing on my mind. My focus is on just winning games, and (I'm) ready for the season to start." Read more: http://espn.go.com/chicago/nba/stor...bson-chicago-bulls-hopeful-contract-extension
Gibson's an interesting guy. Some fans view him as merely a sub and probably always will. Others see that he's something between a sub and a starter. Like Asik, Gibson's contributions tend to blow by the stats sheet. Both are elite defenders. Coaches get a hard-on when they think about them and have a tough time putting a dollar value on their contributions. If the Bulls can get Gibson for under $10mil/season on an extension, they should do it. He's legit.
I see him between sub and starter. A super sub, but just OK as a starter. I agree he should be signed at $10M or less. I do think he's better than Nazr.
