Chicago Bulls: Taj Gibson thinks this team will ‘make some noise’

The expectations are clearly going to be on the rise for head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls heading into next season. With all of the moves that the front office made so far this summer to upgrade the roster, the Bulls should clearly be in a position to snap the four-year-long postseason drought next season.

There is also a notable former Bulls player that is high on where this team is trending heading into next season. Veteran big man Taj Gibson played for the Bulls for eight seasons, and he is now reunited with former Chicago head coach Tom Thibodeau as he now plays for the New York Knicks.

This summer, Gibson re-signed with the Knicks that pays him roughly $5 million annually over the course of the next two years.

In a piece with NBA insider Ian Begley of SNY this week, Gibson spoke on a number of topics. More pertinent to the Bulls was his thoughts on how the Knicks could compare to the Bulls, and expectations for them heading into next season.

Former Chicago Bulls big man Taj Gibson has optimistic outlook for the team next season

More specifically to the Bulls, here’s what Gibson had to say on the matter of his expectations for this team as well as the Eastern Conference as a whole for next season.

"Every year, every team gets better. Every rookie comes back a little stronger, with a little more of a chip on their shoulder. It gets harder. I think the Bulls are a team that’s going to be trying to make some noise. The whole East, the Pacers are tough. Everybody’s going to be better. It’s all going to come down to who comes together (early) and gets their group rolling and who can be healthy."

Gibson specifically cited the Bulls and Indiana Pacers as two teams that he looks at as essentially tough competition in the East for the Knicks next season. The Knicks, Bulls, and Pacers will definitely be three postseason contenders. But the former two teams there are likely to finish higher in the standings, from what we know out, in the East.

The Bulls are in a good spot it appears to make it into the playoff picture in the East without too much trouble heading into next season. Adding the likes of point guard Lonzo Ball, star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan, and center Nikola Vucevic, to this core since the trade deadline elevates the contender status for the Bulls in a big way.

It’s good to hear the respect coming from a former player of the Bulls, that is currently contracted with a longtime conference foe in the Knicks, say some positive words about this team heading into next season.

The Bulls are set to open up the preseason slate this year on Oct. 5 at home at the United Center against the Cleveland Cavaliers. And then, the regular season slate opens up for the Bulls roughly two weeks later, on Oct. 20, on the road against the Detroit Pistons.