NBA Trade Rumors: Derrick Rose Wisely Denies Any Connection to Pau Gasol Talk

There were two separate reports going around this week that Derrick Rose gave his blessing and desire for the Chicago Bulls to pursue Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers.

He also threw Carlos Boozer and C.J. Watson under the bus in the process, allegedly hoping that the team's front office would move them for the two-time NBA champion.

The reigning MVP quickly dispelled that notion, according to Jon Greenberg of ESPN Chicago.

After the Bucks game on Wednesday night, Rose told reporters,

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"I heard about it [the rumors] after (Monday's) game," Rose said. "That's something I wouldn't say to anyone, that I need someone to come to this team or I'm trying to get rid of someone on this team. It was all false and that's something I would never do."

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While Boozer has had his fair share of struggles since coming to Chicago, he’s played great recently and helped carry the squad when D-Rose was out with his back injury.

There’s also no way that the superstar PG would really want to mess with the roster's core makeup when they are 27-8 and competing for a No. 1 seed going into the All-Star break.

He said so himself:

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"I'm good with the teammates I have," Rose said. "I've always been saying that. The team that I have, we've been winning games, and we're not in the position to look to trade anyone right now."

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What would Gasol even bring to the table that Boozer already isn't providing? It doesn't look like much, if anything.

Boozer is averaging 15.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and a solid 20.52 PER in 30.1 minutes per game thus far. Gasol is putting up 16.8 ppg, 10.7 rpg and has a 21.02 PER while playing seven minutes more per game.

These guys both employ a traditional PF game and aren't afraid to bang down low.

Neither represents a radical departure from the back-to-the-basket play we have become accustomed to, and it would be unwise to swap them because of potential chemistry issues.

If the Bulls feel they need to tweak their lineup before the postseason, they should look at bringing in another athletic wing to help guard LeBron James and Dwyane Wade come what should be the Eastern Conference Finals.