QUOTE
James Harden, the Thunder guard, NBA’s reigning Sixth Man of the Year (though he started Tuesday night) and Olympic gold medalist, wanted no part of the question. After being bombarded since the beginning of training camp about his own looming deadline for a long-term contract extension, he understandably didn’t feel right commenting about former Pac-10 (now the Pac-12) rival Taj Gibson’s similar situation.
“He works hard,” said Harden, answering generically. “He’s a great player on a great team. He’s done a great job these last couple of years.”
In the home locker room at the United Center, Gibson was much more forthcoming about his fellow upper-echelon reserve and fourth-year pro, even dropping his guard about his own situation.
“I’ve known James since he was 14 years old, since he was in California playing AAU, so to see both of us in this situation now, it’s great. If you look at it, you have an opportunity to better yourself, better your family for a long time to come,” Gibson told CSNChicago.com. “But you’ve just got to be patient. I talked to him [at the USA Basketball trials in Las Vegas, where Harden played with Olympic team and Gibson was a member of the Select team] and he’s not really thinking about it too much.
“When you’re in this situation, a lot of people are more focused on it than you. You just have to let it slide off your shoulders. Joakim [Noah] was talking about to me about it a couple of days ago, but I always just shrug it off. I really don’t even think about it,” he continued. “When you think about it, it kind of takes you away from the basketball aspect of it. But you really can’t do anything about it, except worry about what you can take care of and that’s the court work. Your agent and the GM has to worry about that.”
Serge Ibaka, Harden’s teammate and like Gibson, one of the top young defensive power forwards in the NBA, got his extension during the offseason, a major reason the Thunder still haven’t come to terms with Harden. When asked about his Bulls counterpart, the native of the Congo (via Spain), spoke freely about his admiration for Gibson.
“He’s tough, man. He brings some energy, he can rebound, he runs the floor, he can shoot the ball, he plays defense. You don’t have a lot of big guys that come off the bench and do the kind of stuff he does,” said Ibaka. “A player like Taj, any team would take him and I just wish him good luck. I know he will keep working to get better and better.”
Tuesday wasn’t one of Gibson’s better preseason outings, but even in a game where his impact wasn’t shown in the box score, just willing to be physical mattered in a game like the Bulls’ win over the short-handed Thunder. Ibaka and Oklahoma City center Kendrick Perkins were embroiled in a hoops battle royale with Bulls’ starting big men Noah and Carlos Boozer, in particular, all night long.
“They played well. They’re good players and yeah, they’re competitive,” said Noah. “It had a regular-season feel to it and I felt like we played pretty hard. It just feels good to get that competitive feeling back.
“I think it’s just more about us, more than anything right now. It’s just more about coming out with the right mindset. I think we did that today, which was pretty good and we competed. We competed hard we got better as a group. We’ve just got to keep fighting, get better this last week [of the preseason] and get ready for the home opener,” he added, before cryptically commenting on Perkins, his nemesis in the epic Bulls-Celtics 2009 first-round playoff series. “It’s been going on a long time. It’s been going on a long time.”
Countered Ibaka: “It’s basketball. That’s why I love it. Me and ‘Perk,’ we love it…those two guys [Boozer and Noah], they’re really tough.”
Added Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau: “You have to win a lot of different ways, so we have to be able to play physical and win, and not allow that to take away from what we’re trying to get accomplished out there. So, I think we can play that way. They’re tough. I’ve coached Perkins. I know how good he is defensively. [Hasheem] Thabeet, I thought, was very good for them. Ibaka was great. They’ve got a tough frontline.
Like Gibson, backup center Nazr Mohammed has had better days during the Bulls’ exhibition campaign. However, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t missed by his old team, as Thunder players and coaches showed the veteran, now playing for his hometown squad, plenty of love after the contest.
“Nazr, first of all, he’s a professional, a good guy. He’s the kind of guy, if you have him on the team, you’ll be happy. He works hard, he’s a good example and I think he’ll a lot on this team [the Bulls], especially coming off the bench,” said Ibaka. “He helped me become a better professional. Every time I did something, a mistake or whatever, he’d help me.”
Chimed in Brooks: “He was a big part of our success. That guy’s a true professional. He works every day. I’ve been around players, they work when the light is on, but he’s always working, always putting in extra time in the weight room, in the cardio room, on the practice floor. He’s somebody that you want your young players to be around and he can still play. He had some good games for us. He didn’t play much in the playoffs, but he was a big part of our success the last two years. Just his work ethic, the professionalism and his ability to rebound, and play defense and make a shot.”
“He works hard,” said Harden, answering generically. “He’s a great player on a great team. He’s done a great job these last couple of years.”
In the home locker room at the United Center, Gibson was much more forthcoming about his fellow upper-echelon reserve and fourth-year pro, even dropping his guard about his own situation.
“I’ve known James since he was 14 years old, since he was in California playing AAU, so to see both of us in this situation now, it’s great. If you look at it, you have an opportunity to better yourself, better your family for a long time to come,” Gibson told CSNChicago.com. “But you’ve just got to be patient. I talked to him [at the USA Basketball trials in Las Vegas, where Harden played with Olympic team and Gibson was a member of the Select team] and he’s not really thinking about it too much.
“When you’re in this situation, a lot of people are more focused on it than you. You just have to let it slide off your shoulders. Joakim [Noah] was talking about to me about it a couple of days ago, but I always just shrug it off. I really don’t even think about it,” he continued. “When you think about it, it kind of takes you away from the basketball aspect of it. But you really can’t do anything about it, except worry about what you can take care of and that’s the court work. Your agent and the GM has to worry about that.”
Serge Ibaka, Harden’s teammate and like Gibson, one of the top young defensive power forwards in the NBA, got his extension during the offseason, a major reason the Thunder still haven’t come to terms with Harden. When asked about his Bulls counterpart, the native of the Congo (via Spain), spoke freely about his admiration for Gibson.
“He’s tough, man. He brings some energy, he can rebound, he runs the floor, he can shoot the ball, he plays defense. You don’t have a lot of big guys that come off the bench and do the kind of stuff he does,” said Ibaka. “A player like Taj, any team would take him and I just wish him good luck. I know he will keep working to get better and better.”
Tuesday wasn’t one of Gibson’s better preseason outings, but even in a game where his impact wasn’t shown in the box score, just willing to be physical mattered in a game like the Bulls’ win over the short-handed Thunder. Ibaka and Oklahoma City center Kendrick Perkins were embroiled in a hoops battle royale with Bulls’ starting big men Noah and Carlos Boozer, in particular, all night long.
“They played well. They’re good players and yeah, they’re competitive,” said Noah. “It had a regular-season feel to it and I felt like we played pretty hard. It just feels good to get that competitive feeling back.
“I think it’s just more about us, more than anything right now. It’s just more about coming out with the right mindset. I think we did that today, which was pretty good and we competed. We competed hard we got better as a group. We’ve just got to keep fighting, get better this last week [of the preseason] and get ready for the home opener,” he added, before cryptically commenting on Perkins, his nemesis in the epic Bulls-Celtics 2009 first-round playoff series. “It’s been going on a long time. It’s been going on a long time.”
Countered Ibaka: “It’s basketball. That’s why I love it. Me and ‘Perk,’ we love it…those two guys [Boozer and Noah], they’re really tough.”
Added Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau: “You have to win a lot of different ways, so we have to be able to play physical and win, and not allow that to take away from what we’re trying to get accomplished out there. So, I think we can play that way. They’re tough. I’ve coached Perkins. I know how good he is defensively. [Hasheem] Thabeet, I thought, was very good for them. Ibaka was great. They’ve got a tough frontline.
Like Gibson, backup center Nazr Mohammed has had better days during the Bulls’ exhibition campaign. However, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t missed by his old team, as Thunder players and coaches showed the veteran, now playing for his hometown squad, plenty of love after the contest.
“Nazr, first of all, he’s a professional, a good guy. He’s the kind of guy, if you have him on the team, you’ll be happy. He works hard, he’s a good example and I think he’ll a lot on this team [the Bulls], especially coming off the bench,” said Ibaka. “He helped me become a better professional. Every time I did something, a mistake or whatever, he’d help me.”
Chimed in Brooks: “He was a big part of our success. That guy’s a true professional. He works every day. I’ve been around players, they work when the light is on, but he’s always working, always putting in extra time in the weight room, in the cardio room, on the practice floor. He’s somebody that you want your young players to be around and he can still play. He had some good games for us. He didn’t play much in the playoffs, but he was a big part of our success the last two years. Just his work ethic, the professionalism and his ability to rebound, and play defense and make a shot.”