Gasol on the block Options

[madisonsmadhouse]

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...bulls-headlines

Bulls fueling up with Gasol?
He's on the market for Bulls to grab, but they won't give up Gordon, Deng

By Sam Smith
Tribune pro basketball reporter

January 21, 2007, 9:09 PM CST


No, no, no, the Memphis Grizzlies kept protesting a few months ago when it was suggested here that the Bulls had a package of players to trade for Pau Gasol, that Gasol wasn't exactly hurrying back from his broken foot to be with the weak team and that a trade could benefit both teams.

Gasol is untouchable, Grizzlies management insisted.



Or not.

There was a report Sunday in the New York Post that Gasol, surprise, surprise, upset with the direction of the Grizzlies, is asking to be traded and general manager Jerry West is seeking offers.

First, the rumor: Luol Deng and Ben Gordon for Gasol.

Forget it! Not a chance.

Attempts to reach Bulls officials for comment Sunday were unsuccessful. But league sources familiar with the Grizzlies say there hasn't been a specific exchange of names with the Bulls or any trade proposal. But the Bulls, among other teams, have been notified that Gasol is available.

As suggested here two months ago, Gasol would be an ideal fit for the Bulls, just as Kevin Garnett would be. Though different players—Garnett more the defender and worker and Gasol more offensive minded—both are good passers who could provide the power-forward size and scoring the Bulls need to complement Ben Wallace.

The addition of either would make the Bulls the favorite to reach the NBA Finals from the Eastern Conference. Garnett seems unlikely to be traded with the Timberwolves in playoff contention. But the Grizzlies have the league's worst record and sources say Gasol told owner Michael Heisley last week he doesn't have the patience for another rebuilding.

It's great news for the Bulls. But an indication of how difficult making a major deal can be is how this has developed.

The Bulls, despite my advice, had not had any conversations with the Grizzlies regarding Gasol this season.

Then, a few days ago, a third party not connected with the Grizzlies was believed to have contacted the Bulls to say Gasol was available and the Grizzlies would be interested in Deng and Gordon.

Subsequently, sources say West spoke with Bulls general manager John Paxson, but no specific offers or players names were exchanged or sought. It seems likely now Gasol will be traded before the Feb. 22 deadline. One potential complication is the franchise remains for sale and insiders say Heisley is again in talks with a Memphis group of minority owners. It's not clear whether the new group would want to retain Gasol if a sale is consummated.

One factor in the Bulls' favor is Gasol is represented by Arn Tellem, who is close with the Bulls and last summer did the Ben Wallace deal. Tellem supposedly has talked for some time about getting Gasol into a better market.

Interestingly, Gasol's younger brother Marc, a 7-footer playing in Spain, will be in this draft and is expected to be a first-round selection.

Gasol is averaging 19.3 points, 7 rebounds and 2.5 assists this season and 21.7 points and 9.4 rebounds this month after making the All-Star team last season and then suffering a broken foot in the world championships last summer.

However desirable Gasol might be, Gordon and Deng appear to be off the table.

The Bulls would need Gordon's outside shooting to spread the floor and keep double teams off Gasol. Gasol has struggled when teams could collapse on him as they have with poor talent around him. Likewise, it would be questionable for the Bulls to trade Deng because he moves so well off the ball and Gasol is an excellent passer.

NBA rules limit trading the draft pick the Bulls could get from the Knicks, which could complicate a deal. Figure the Bulls would trade Tyrus Thomas, because Gasol would take minutes from him, and probably Andres Nocioni. Would that be enough for the Grizzlies, with future first-rounders thrown in? Probably not.

The Grizzlies probably also would ask for Kirk Hinrich, who seemingly would be a good fit because the Grizzlies desperately need a point guard. Dealing Hinrich is somewhat complicated because of his contract extension, but it is possible with at least a half-dozen players also in a deal to make salary-cap issues work.

Certainly, the Bulls want to keep Hinrich, but they are loaded at guard and have Thabo Sefolosha in the wings—unless the Grizzlies want him.

Figure these talks may take awhile, though, yes, they finally are talking seriously.



Copyright © 2007, The Chicago Tribune

[sport1016]

apparently the bulls offered gordon and PJ for Gasol.

I'm not sure how i feel about that. I think it makes sense for both teams in that it's fair. You exchange 20ppg scorers and a salary dump.


The GOOD: Love Gasol. And i agree, i'd rather have him then garnett bc he's only 26 and he can play center alongside tyrus in the future. Which brings up another good feature of this trade. I don't think deng or tyrus should be involved, period. They, with gasol, will be the best front line in the nba in a year or two. This will greatly benefit deng. It seems like when gordon is on the court with him the team doesnt look for him nearly enough. Gordon, while he's been a scoring machine, has also been a turnover machine. With Gordon as our starting 2 guard, we'll always be undersized. This projected starting lineup is 6'3, 6'7(thabo), 6'9. 7ft, and wallace (6'5????) It's a very big team. Thabo's defense and penetration (and inconsistent outside shot) remind anyone else of a young pippen?

THE BAD: The idea of bringing in gasol is to space the floor for guys like gordon to flourish. Losing him turns us from a great 3pt shooting team to an average one with only kirk and noc consistent threats. I truly believe hinrich could pick up some of the scoring burden just bc he will be the one getting the kick outs instead, but thabo and deng are both mid range shooters. Thabo had a 3pt shot in the euro leagues, and like noc will probably greatly improve in that area after one summer.

THE CONCLUSION: Do it! This team needs a post player, and here's a young all-star! That should be enough right there. Losing gordon hurts, but this is a way to justify doing what i feel is inevitable in having a more traditional lineup. One problem with gordon is that to score he has to dominate the ball, which hurts the averages of others. Deng and Hinrich play with gordon, but they don't really play off of him. They will be able to play off gasol. Obviously thabo's #s would increase, but its more than that. right now hinrich and deng avg 15 and 18 respectively. I would expect hinrich to get more like 18 and deng over 20 with pau drawing defenders. Also, Pau's #s will go up too. He only plays 31 mpg and like wallace is good at avoiding fouls. instead of 20 and 8, it's conceivable playing 37mpg, regular starter's mins, that he'd avg 24 and 10. Also, with a likely run on big men at the top of the draft, it's likely we could use our pick next year to get one of the best 2 guards in draft. Certainly someone good enough to back up thabo.

[ZoomSlowik]

apparently the bulls offered gordon and PJ for Gasol.
Also, with a likely run on big men at the top of the draft, it's likely we could use our pick next year to get one of the best 2 guards in draft. Certainly someone good enough to back up thabo.

The problem with that is that this is a rather lackluster group of guards. The vast majority of the good players on the draft board are forwards or centers. A quick look at perimeter players that we could conceivably take with a top-15 pick:

Kevin Durant- Might be a fit. Potential superstar, but best position is SF. We'd have to get EXTREMELY lucky in the lottery to have a shotat him.

Julian Wright- Bad fit, true small forward with a questionable jumper.

Chase Budinger- Awesome fit if he's there. Big wing player with great athleticism and a solid perimeter shot. Possible top-5 pick, would be surprised if he's there past 8. Also, 2 of the sites seem to think he'll stay at Arizona another year.

Corey Brewer- Possible fit. Not entirely sure if he can play SG in the NBA, though I like him as a prospect. Stock is supposedly slipping.

Marcus Williams- Possible fit. Good athlete and a solid shooter, but streaky, and a little lax in the ball-handling department. Probably a better fit at SF.

Thaddeus Young- Bad fit. Kind of a tweener at SF/PF. Solid athlete with decent perimeter shot, but we don't want him playing 2-guard.

Dominic James- Bad fit. Undersized PG with questionable outside shot.

Daquan Cook- Decent fit. Athletic 2-guard with range, but a bit of a project.



So basically there are two true SG's and a bunch of small forwards that we'd be trying to jam into the 2-guard spot.

[madisonsmadhouse]

The problem with that is that this is a rather lackluster group of guards. The vast majority of the good players on the draft board are forwards or centers. A quick look at perimeter players that we could conceivably take with a top-15 pick:

Kevin Durant- Might be a fit. Potential superstar, but best position is SF. We'd have to get EXTREMELY lucky in the lottery to have a shotat him.

Julian Wright- Bad fit, true small forward with a questionable jumper.

Chase Budinger- Awesome fit if he's there. Big wing player with great athleticism and a solid perimeter shot. Possible top-5 pick, would be surprised if he's there past 8. Also, 2 of the sites seem to think he'll stay at Arizona another year.

Corey Brewer- Possible fit. Not entirely sure if he can play SG in the NBA, though I like him as a prospect. Stock is supposedly slipping.

Marcus Williams- Possible fit. Good athlete and a solid shooter, but streaky, and a little lax in the ball-handling department. Probably a better fit at SF.

Thaddeus Young- Bad fit. Kind of a tweener at SF/PF. Solid athlete with decent perimeter shot, but we don't want him playing 2-guard.

Dominic James- Bad fit. Undersized PG with questionable outside shot.

Daquan Cook- Decent fit. Athletic 2-guard with range, but a bit of a project.
So basically there are two true SG's and a bunch of small forwards that we'd be trying to jam into the 2-guard spot.

It is infinately easier to deal big men for small guys than the other way around. If we were going to be short suited going into an off-season, I would much rather be needing to add backcourt guys versus the other way around.

Kevhead,

I was wondering which future draft pick they were shipping. I feel like if they give up the knicks pick they are giving up too much. If it is the 2008 first rounder i say pull the trigger in a heart beat. Also, I am not sure whether we should trade gordon instead of deng. Deng is not a second half player, horrible in the fourth quarter in my opinion. It seems like he has rocks for hands when trying to get a rebound, while gordon is the one clutch player we have. Also, with the kickout ability of gasol, how many good open looks could hinrich and gordon get when swinging the ball around after the ball leaves down low from gasol. I personally think the idea is scary. I just feel like in this new age of NBA, the small forward position isnt that tough to find nowadays. Hell with the knicks pick we could end up with corey brewer from florida, and he's a stud already.

Also, I know as Bulls' fans we want to win right now, but I wonder why rush so much. The only thing i can think of is having wallace for the next 3 years. Our guys are so young, hell we should be happy just by what they have done the last 2 years. I dont like to compare things to the past, but when michael and the crew were winning 35-45 games in the 80's we didnt panic, we let them develop. I say we let these guys develop and grow. I see Thabo looking like a scottie pippen clone, i dont know if thats overboard, but he is so silky smooth. Anyways, go chi-town, i'll do my job in columbus, ohio and continue telling cavs fans they will never win the big one. The East is open, lets take it.

Welcome to talkbulls.com

[ZoomSlowik]

It is infinately easier to deal big men for small guys than the other way around. If we were going to be short suited going into an off-season, I would much rather be needing to add backcourt guys versus the other way around.

That's true, I'm just saying our perimeter options in the draft will be somewhat limited. However, we could probably get fairly solid value for our pick, especially if we get a little lucky in the lottery.