Gasol to the Bulls? (Bulls offer Gordon, Brown, and a 1st)

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/couch/253404,CST-SPT-greg12.articleprint

Good as gone
Yeah, right. Gasol will be traded. That team needs to rebuild, and the fans there are booing Gasol because of his request, anyway.

He's gone. So Paxson is in the position of power.

In the end, Memphis will take Brown, whose big contract expires at the end of the season, which will then free up salary-cap room. It will take a first-round pick, which the Bulls should give. And it'll take one proven young player.

That means Deng or Gordon.

I'd give Gordon because Deng is already on the verge of becoming a star. Gordon has turned into something big this season, too. But you have to give up something for Gasol.

From there maybe one more small part will have to go, but not another player from the core.

It's all in the timing. West is bluffing with his big demands, and if he's not, then Paxson and the Bulls will have to wait another year.

The trade deadline is Feb. 22, and that's exactly when this will end.

A prediction: In the end, West will buckle, and Paxson will pull it off. So far, he has the best poker face.

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/cs-070211smith,1,586763,print.column?coll=cs-bulls-utility
Bulls: Huge deal or tweak?
Sam Smith

Plan A: That would be Gasol. He's a 7-footer who can score, and you get the feeling the Bulls have gone as far as they can playing the way they do. Gasol is not Shaquille O'Neal or Hakeem Olajuwon. The guy couldn't even get his team one playoff win in 12 chances. The Grizzlies' demands will come back to earth because they want to trade him. Gasol would help Ben Wallace, who hasn't done well under the pressure of being the prize free agent and needs a big offensive player with him to be more effective.

The bigger issue might be Gasol's expanding contract, which grows to $17.8 million in 2010-11. The Bulls want to have financial flexibility because Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh can become free agents before that season. Things change in the NBA in a hurry, and you want to be prepared. It would probably take Luol Deng and another player, perhaps Chris Duhon, plus P.J. Brown and Michael Sweetney for salary-cap relief and a No. 1 draft pick. The Bulls then appeal to Antonio Davis to return for the playoffs.

Plan B: Kevin Garnett. He's likely not going anywhere at the trade deadline. But it still seems inconceivable that Minnesota, going nowhere, will keep him after the season. His price should come way down because he can opt out of his contract and leave as a free agent after next season. So be patient: Miami and Detroit don't have long runs left.

Plan C: Melvin Ely, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Nazr Mohammed, Etan Thomas. Fill-in help. You figure with a reasonable offer not involving any of your main players that you can get some short-term help, maybe just enough to win those close games. The Bobcats' Ely and the Kings' Abdur-Rahim can play out of the post. With Chris Webber playing well, the Pistons don't use Chicagoan Mohammed, who doesn't have a huge contract. And Thomas should be expendable in light of his fights with Wizards teammate Brendan Haywood. You'd figure any would take a decent future asset.

Plan D: The draft. The Knicks probably aren't going to make the playoffs, and they owe the Bulls a draft choice, so you'll get a lottery pick. Perhaps you luck into a top guy.

But even if the Bulls don't, the draft has some good prospects in the top 10. You lose the chance to trade expiring contracts if you wait, but more teams are in dealing mode around draft time, and big names like Jermaine O'Neal figure to come up. Again, patience, though you might have to deal someone with Deng, Ben Gordon and Andres Nocioni up for extensions.

Plan E: Zach Randolph. His name doesn't come up as much, but you figure Portland still would like to get out from his contract and all his issues. He'd come much more cheaply. The Bulls would not have to give up any of their top three.

Rasheed Wallace became much better once he left Portland. Randolph is a big-time scorer in the post and perhaps could adapt, given his Michigan State connections with Bulls coach Scott Skiles. Skiles has taken an interest in Randolph over the years. But he goes over $17 million in 2010-11 as well, he's smallish at about 6-9 and the Bulls then probably couldn't afford extensions for their top players.

massacre wrote:Greg Anthony says do not "pull the trigger" on this trade. He thinks that Gasol won't get us over the hump, and that he can't carry a team. He says don't do it to Chicago.

--Was watching NBA Coast 2 Coast

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/cs-070213bullsbits,1,3046116,print.story?coll=cs-bulls-headlines

But as John Paxson heads to league general manager meetings at this weekend's All-Star Game in Las Vegas, expect the Pau Gasol talks with Memphis to heat up.

Paxson remains reluctant to include Luol Deng or Ben Gordon in any deal for Gasol.

"The reason it would be difficult [to trade any of the young core]—and I like all our guys but realize you can't get attached to them—is they've been a part of helping change our culture," Paxson said. "The reason we've been in the playoffs two years in a row is because we were able to change the mind-set of work and accountability.

"I worry about chemistry. I worry about if I'm taking out a player or players that have helped get us to this point, am I messing too much with just the little intangible things that are very important to a team? I'm not saying we're in position [to win a championship] yet. But I have a long-term view in mind as well."

Paxson has made major trades before and sounds more conflicted than usual on this decision. Of course, that also could be bluffing.

"It might create a hole we'll be trying to fill for three or four years after this," Paxson said. "So you have to weigh how much better you can be. That's what makes it difficult. I know that whole [Gasol] scenario is out there and it's popular for people to talk about. But I'm not going to go out and make a bad deal for the Bulls, and Jerry West isn't going to make a bad deal for Memphis.

"I have a lot of respect for him. I value the names you share in those discussions. And they're all very young."