{"id":3714,"date":"2017-02-23T15:03:29","date_gmt":"2017-02-23T20:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/?p=3714"},"modified":"2017-02-23T15:15:16","modified_gmt":"2017-02-23T20:15:16","slug":"bulls-trade-taj-gibson-mcdermott-okc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2017\/02\/23\/bulls-trade-taj-gibson-mcdermott-okc\/","title":{"rendered":"Bulls Trade Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott to OKC Thunder"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Chicago Bulls have traded forwards\u00a0Taj Gibson<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and Doug McDermott<\/a><\/strong>, along with their 2018 second-round pick, to the Oklahoma City Thunder for guard Cameron Payne<\/strong>, swingman Anthony Morrow<\/a><\/strong>, and forward\u00a0Joffrey Lauvergne<\/a><\/strong>. Shams Charania of The Vertical broke the news Thursday afternoon, and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst added the detail of Payne’s involvement in the trade:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShamsCharania\/status\/834851401238986755<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/WindhorstESPN\/status\/834852822902505472<\/p>\n

Bulls Trade Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott to OKC<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Gibson is in the final year of his contract with the Bulls. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this off-season. The Bulls signed Gibson to his four-year, $33 million deal back in October 2012. The following season, Gibson went\u00a0on to be runner-up for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year<\/strong> award, losing out to three-time winner Jamal Crawford<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Gibson, a seven-year NBA<\/strong> veteran, can provide the Thunder with strong play in the paint. Whether he starts or\u00a0comes\u00a0off the bench behind Domantas Sabonis<\/a><\/strong>, Gibson is a quality addition to\u00a0OKC. McDermott, on the other hand, is just 25 years old, and he’ll provide the Thunder with some much-needed perimeter shooting. He may slide right into OKC’s starting lineup, alongside Andre Roberson<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0on the wing.<\/p>\n

Gibson is averaging about 12 points and over seven\u00a0rebounds per game this season. He’s also shooting over 52\u00a0percent from the field and over 70\u00a0percent from the free throw line. McDermott is averaging a career-high of 10.2 points per game in his third NBA season, connecting on nearly 38 percent of his three-pointers.<\/p>\n

From the Bulls perspective, the team adds a couple of veterans in Morrow and Lauvergne. However, neither has\u00a0played many minutes or made much of an impact off the bench in Oklahoma City this year. Payne is the real key to the deal for Chicago, as he has shown promise as a floor general at just 22 years old.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Main Photo:<\/p>\n

\n
Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n