Pau Gasol Bulls Trade Rumors: How Potential Deal Impacts Both Teams

According to K.C. Johnson of  the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers are having discussions in regards to Pau Gasol.

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The Bulls and Lakers had exploratory trade talks centered on All-Star center Pau Gasol, league sources confirmed. However, multiple obstacles exist for any deal to occur before Thursday's 2 p.m. deadline.

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However, it is unlikely that much will come of these talks since what the Lakers want and what the Bulls would be willing to give in return for Gasol are far apart. 

The Bulls would like to send Carlos Boozer and C.J. Watson for Gasol. Here are the respective stats for Carlos Boozer and Pau Gasol per 36 minutes.

Player	FG%	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PTS
Carlos Boozer	.530	.711	2.0	7.8	9.8	2.0	1.2	0.5	2.2	18.9
Pau Gasol	.504	.779	2.8	7.2	10.0	3.3	0.6	1.3	2.1	16.0

So, per 36 minutes their stats are fairly even and if anything, Boozer has a slight edge. There are a couple of qualifiers here, though. Gasol's frontcourt teammate, Andrew Bynum, gets more shots and more rebounds than Joakim Noah, so his numbers are somewhat effected by that. Gasol is also a better defensive player. 

For the Lakers, this deal doesn't work that well. The big advantage they have in the postseason is their bigs and their length. Gasol is a seven-footer with skills. Watson provides them with an upgrade at point guard, but he's hardly an elite point guard and would struggle trying to defend a player like Russell Westbrook. 

Having said that, the Lakers would be getting an advantage in salary cap relief as the trade would save them about $2 million a year in salaries.

On the Bulls' end, they would be taking on more salary in acquiring Gasol and not just what he's making this year either. 

According to Johnson,

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Gasol has two years and $38.3 million left on his deal. However, his contract carries a 15 percent trade kicker. That means he would make close to $22 million next season if he's traded. And the Bulls have luxury tax concerns of their own when Rose's five-year, $95 million extension kicks in next season.

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That would put Gasol and Rose's combined salaries next year at $37 million. Luol Deng's and Noah's would combine for another $25 million. That would put the four salaries at $62 million. Factoring in Rip Hamilton and Jimmy Butler's contracts, it would put the Bulls at $69 million for six players.  

That would put Chicago at just $8 million below the luxury tax, so now the deal is pretty close to untenable. The depth that has carried them this season would be thrown out the window. It would be almost impossible to keep either Omer Asik this summer or Taj Gibson next summer. That would also mean they wouldn't be able to exercise the option on Korver's contract. 

So the question for the Bulls isn't so much, "Is Gasol worth Boozer?" it's "Is Gasol worth Boozer, Watson, Korver, Asik, and Gibson?" All those players wouldn't be going to the Lakers, but they would be leaving the Bulls.

Wait. It gets worse. 

The Lakers aren't satisfied with Boozer and want no part of his contract. Instead of Boozer, they are asking for Noah, an unnamed player, and two first-round picks. It doesn't really matter who the "unnamed" player is because whether it's Korver or Watson, the Bulls would eventually lose them both. 

Noah makes $4 million less than Boozer, which means it would put them in an even worse position financially, as well as them giving up the best of their bigs. On top of that, they would have to give up their two first-round picks. 

So, Gasol would eventually cost the Bulls Noah, Watson, Korver, Watson, Asik, Gibson and two first-round picks. 

All this for what really comes down to a marginal upgrade? That's not really all that sensible. I don't expect these talks to progress at all because the Bulls wouldn't be digging one hole to fill another, they would be digging up the entire backyard to fill a divot. For the Lakers, they aren't really solving any problems, they're just moving players around.