Thursday’s trade of Taj Gibson to the Oklahoma City Thunder potentially signals a change of direction from the Chicago Bulls, but it also represents yet another changing of the guard in a city that has been inundated with them over the past calendar year.
In just the last six months, four of the five major Chicago sports teams have now said goodbye to their longest-tenured player. Gibson, who was the last remaining member of the Bulls’ last Eastern Conference Final squad from 2011, had been with the organization since 2009, and now his tenure in Chicago is over.
The release of long-tenured talent has been going on since early September, when the Chicago Bears released Robbie Gould. The kicker was the last remaining player from the team’s 2007 Super Bowl appearance, and he held a franchise record for most points scored in a Bears uniform before he was cut and ultimately signed with the New York Giants.
That was just the beginning. In early December, the Chicago White Sox traded pitcher Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox in a massive swap. Then the Chicago Cubs followed suit, allowing pitcher Travis Wood to sign a free agent contract with the Kansas City Royals after he’d been with the team throughout the Theo Epstein regime. [[414417003, C]]
Only the Chicago Blackhawks have retained their longest tenured player, with both Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook having made their debuts during the 2005-06 season (although Keith was drafted one year earlier than Seabrook was, having been selected by the Blackhawks in 2002).
In fact, Keith and Seabrook are far and away the longest-tenured Chicago athletes now, and the Blackhawks have a massive monopoly on that title. Corey Crawford (2006), Jonathan Toews (2007), Patrick Kane (2007), and Niklas Hjalmarsson (2007) have all been around longer than the next longest-tenured Chicago athlete.
For those that are curious, Jimmy Butler is now the longest tenured Bulls player, having joined the squad in 2011.
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As for the Bears, things could get really interesting really quickly in regards to their longest-serving player, with Jay Cutler currently serving that distinction. With trade rumors swirling, he could be gone sooner rather than later, and even the next guy on the list could be in jeopardy, as Alshon Jeffery is eligible to become a free agent unless the Bears use the franchise tag on him in the coming year.
For the White Sox, Nate Jones is now the team's longest tenured player, having made his debut with the team in April 2012. Jose Quintana is a close second, having debuted in May 2012.
Anthony Rizzo is now the longest-tenured member of the Cubs, having made his debut with the team during the 2012 season on the North Side.
*Editor's note: An original version of this story incorrectly listed Quintana as the longest-tenured White sox player.
