Chicago Bulls: 3 players that benefited most from playing with D-Rose

3. Taj Gibson, Power Forward

Definitely the most productive name on this list overall from his run with the Bulls, and just overall in his career, than the veteran big man Taj Gibson. The Bulls got eight seasons out of Gibson overall. He was the 26th overall pick of the Bulls in the first round of the 2009 NBA Draft, out of the USC Trojans program.

Gibson found a good amount of success as a role player off the bench for the Bulls right away at the next level. Even during his rookie season he started in the bulk of the games he played in. Gibson started in 70 of the 82 regular season games he played in as a rookie, during the 2009-10 campaign. He was also the next first round pick for the Bulls after the selection of D-Rose in 2008.

During his eight seasons in total with the Bulls, Gibson averaged 9.4 points per game, 6.4 rebounds, one assist, 0.5 steals, and 1.2 blocks. He registered a 107 offensive rating/102 defensive rating, -0.8 box plus/minus rating, .125 win shares per 48 minutes, 36.8 total win shares, and a 15.3 player efficiency rating in his time with the Bulls.

But Gibson really benefited from having D-Rose on the court with him. Almost all of his individual numbers per 100 possessions went up in the regular season and the playoffs in the early 2010’s in the two-man combination with D-Rose. Gibson averaged 5.5 more rebounds per 100 possessions and was assisted seven times more per 100 possessions during the 2011 playoff run alongside D-Rose. That was a constant trend throughout the 2010’s between those two.