The Chicago Bulls still have one roster spot sitting there, and a familiar name may have just entered the conversation.
New Orleans reportedly agreed to send Jordan Hawkins, Micah Peavy, and a future second-rounder to the Memphis Grizzlies for AJ Johnson and Taj Gibson. Hawkins had been the subject of trade speculation for months as the Pelicans looked to move his final-year salary, and that push only intensified once they were able to lock in Bennedict Mathurin to a two-year deal.
Chicago was an obvious place to connect the dots. The Bulls have the opening and the flexibility, and Bryson Graham also had a strong say in the Pelicans' front office when Hawkins was drafted in 2023. But Memphis ended up with the sharpshooter, and Chicago still has that 15th chair to fill.
Now the question is whether the fallout from that deal can still bring the Bulls a late addition. According to Will Guillory of The Athletic, New Orleans plans to waive Gibson even though the team intends to keep Johnson for now. Gibson is in the second year of a two-year, $4.8 million contract he signed with Memphis, and because that second season was never fully guaranteed, the Pelicans can move on from him for just $100,000.
On the surface, this is the kind of move that old Bulls regimes used to love. It has the whiff of a nostalgia play, the sort of signing that sells a few more tickets and jerseys without changing much on the floor.
There’s also a practical wrinkle. Adding Gibson would make Bryson Graham’s job a little tougher if a salary dump opportunity comes along in the coming weeks and months. Graham has been patient so far, preserving flexibility and keeping the door open for moves that could actually bring back future assets.
But there’s another way to look at it: if the Bulls can bring in a fan favorite on a veteran minimum deal, what’s the real downside? It wouldn’t tie their hands financially, and while it might slightly complicate a future dump, those deals haven’t exactly been lining up anyway, at least not the kind Chicago seems interested in.
And Gibson would bring more than sentiment. He’s got 16 years of experience, and over the last few seasons he has settled into the role of veteran teacher for young teams.
Since 2022, he has been in the locker room for the Wizards, Pistons, Hornets, and Grizzlies. He only played 100 games across those four stops, but the idea is that each team got something out of having him around.
That’s the lane he’s in now: mentor, stabilizer, the guy who feels one step away from coaching. Until he makes that jump, the Bulls could use him exactly where he is. He’d be the kind of on-court guide who could help a high-upside wing like Caleb Wilson, not to mention Matas Buzelis.
The value isn’t just in the locker room, either. Gibson still knows how to teach the little things - work in the post, handle the spotlight, carry yourself like a pro. For a team in rebuild mode, that matters.
He also remains closely tied to both Chicago and the franchise. Earlier this year, he was seated on the court for Derrick Rose's retirement ceremony. Fans also remember the United Center giving him a standing ovation during his Hornets days, a moment that clearly got to him.
So this wouldn’t be the usual Bulls nostalgia trip. It would be a culture move, a chance to surround young players with the right kind of example. Gibson, now 41, fits that description as well as anyone, and bringing him back for one last run in the city where his career took off would make a lot of sense.
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