NBA Rumors: Pau Gasol to Bulls Would Make Sense for Chicago
The Chicago Bulls need to make some crucial decisions that have been brought about thanks to Derrick Rose's torn ACL. They have a golden opportunity sitting right in front of them in Pau Gasol.
Sam Smith of NBA.com recently wrote, "The interesting part, according to Lakers’ insiders, is Gasol would like to play for the Bulls."
The Bulls are going to have a hard time keeping pace in the Eastern Conference with Derrick Rose out until December or January at the very earliest, as Chicago is sure to be extremely careful with the face of their franchise.
They showed that they can play moderately well without Rose in the regular season, but they all knew he would be back for the playoffs. Now that he will not be back for the beginning of the season, they might have a hard time grabbing a No. 6 or No. 7 seed.
Gasol clearly needs to get out of Los Angeles, both for the sake of his career and the sake of the Lakers franchise. The Lakers barely put up a fight in the series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Gasol and Andrew Bynum are hardly Tim Duncan and David Robinson.
It is hard for the two to play together efficiently and the problem is exasperated even more so with Kobe Bryant's propensity to shoot the ball constantly.
The trade between the two teams would almost certainly involve some sort of swap of Gasol and Luol Deng, with a couple other auxiliary pieces thrown in to even out the contract differential. Smith writes that Kobe has always entertained the thought of playing with Deng, and we know whatever Kobe wants, Kobe gets.
But with Deng leaving Chicago, Gasol would need to do a lot of scoring for the Bulls until Derrick Rose returns. He would also be replacing Joakim Noah or Carlos Boozer, so one of them would have to be on the outs as well if this trade were to work out. It would likely be Noah, as Boozer's salary is inordinately high.
Say Gasol winds up on the Bulls and we fast-forward to when Rose returns. So by now, Gasol has taken on the role of a scorer for this team, asserting himself on the perimeter and down low. When Rose comes back, Gasol takes a lot of pressure of the rusty Rose, and the two begin to develop some series chemistry on the court. The Bulls wind up playing great basketball and finish the season as a No. 4 seed, beat the No. 5 seed and meet the Miami Heat in the second round. Gasol dominates Chris Bosh down low and the Bulls win in seven games.
Okay, now back to reality. Gasol is a great passing center who has the ability to shoot either from a spot-up position or from a turnaround or fade away move. He is extremely adept at running the pick-and-roll and is intelligent enough to pick up any scheme quickly. The pick-and-roll play between Gasol and Rose would hit on all cylinders. Just the threat of it alone would be helpful.
When he was with the Memphis Grizzlies, Gasol was the main scoring option on the team, so he is not one to shy away from a pivotal role. He would be a good pickup for the Bulls to bring in as someone to score until Rose returns from his devastating injury.
They would likely get a great deal on him too, as the Lakers do not seem like they want him in Los Angeles anymore (and by the Lakers, I mean Kobe). They would be better off without him anyway, and the Bulls would be better off with him.
We are approaching what could be one of the most interesting NBA offseasons in recent memory and it is going to be a fun summer as we wait to see what moves teams make in preparation for 2013.
