Gasol on the block Options

[Balta1701-B]

You know what I think is really going to wind up bothering me? There's a really solid chance that the Grizz will decide they don't want to make a move without an overwhelming deal, like a Deng + Gordon deal for Gasol deal, a deal the Bulls would just be stupid to make.

But you know what's going to happen? Because we'll never know exactly what the Grizzlies price was, people are going to wind up pretending that Pax could have made the deal at some price that seems reasonable, and if nothing gets done because the Grizz don't have to make a deal, people will be mad at Paxson because they'll think it could have been done for TT and a draft pick or something less than 1/2 of our team. And people will be screaming "oh Pax did a terrible job, sure this team was 10 games better than it was last season and is sure to get even better in 07-08, but we should have made that deal!" when no one really knows what the deal would have been.

[madisonsmadhouse]

It is starting to sound like the Bulls might stand pat afterall at the trade deadline....

The Grizzlies and Bulls have talked at least twice recently about a possible Pau Gasol trade. But the teams appear no closer to consummating a deal. Team insiders said Gasol likely would remain with the Griz barring an outstanding offer.
-- Memphis Commercial-Appeal

Bulls general manager John Paxson said trade talk has ''been fairly quiet'' to this point. But with NBA executives getting together this weekend for meetings during All-Star festivities in Las Vegas, things might change.
-- Chicago Sun-Times

[Jordan4life_2007]

You know what I think is really going to wind up bothering me? There's a really solid chance that the Grizz will decide they don't want to make a move without an overwhelming deal, like a Deng + Gordon deal for Gasol deal, a deal the Bulls would just be stupid to make.

But you know what's going to happen? Because we'll never know exactly what the Grizzlies price was, people are going to wind up pretending that Pax could have made the deal at some price that seems reasonable, and if nothing gets done because the Grizz don't have to make a deal, people will be mad at Paxson because they'll think it could have been done for TT and a draft pick or something less than 1/2 of our team. And people will be screaming "oh Pax did a terrible job, sure this team was 10 games better than it was last season and is sure to get even better in 07-08, but we should have made that deal!" when no one really knows what the deal would have been.

You mean like last year when Sox fans crucified KW for not trading for Soriano and 5 new starting pitchers?

[CryptViLL]

You mean like last year when Sox fans crucified KW for not trading for Soriano and 5 new starting pitchers?

lol, good times.

[Chicago Bulls Fr...]

Well my opinion on this is pretty simple. What good is it to keep the roster the way it is and possibly squeek by the first round of the playoffs and not winning a title. This team even 2-3 years down the road is not good enough to win the title and its pretty evident.

I will quote the great Chicago Bulls hater Charles Barkley when he said "Even if your a great jumpshooting team, at the end of the season you will only shoot up to 45% as a team. He is right about this, which could be a reason why Phoenix has not won an NBA finals with 2 time MVP Steve Nash. Right now they are a much better team with an inside presence Amare Staudemire who looks like he is 100% healthy from that knee surgery. If Paxson fails to grab a big man by trade deadline it will be devestating to many of us fans who realize this team can't cut it the way it is. If Andres Nocioni, a 6'7 Small Forward/Power Forward is your best low post scorer, you know you have problems. Im only hoping Pax is playing poker long enough with Mr West that he will fold and we wind up with Gasol by only giving him one of our core players (Probably Deng or Gordon).

The funny thing is that we thought trading Chandler and Curry was the best move Pax has made when now he looks like a total idiot seeing how both of them are playing out of their minds this season while Curry has put up Allstar like numbers. Tyson actually has a go to low post move now and its showing. I beleive over his last 5-10 games he has put up double digits in points and rebounds including a 17 point 23 rebound performance last night. Now I still don't think CHandler would have done this well with the Bulls this season because our offense is predicated on ball movement and screenings without utilizing the center position. The biggest fault Paxson made is that, is Wallace really that much more important to have if he can maybe limit his fouls per game and have a bigger body than Tyson Chandler who is still what 23 years old? As far as Im concerned Ben Wallace has been somewhat of a dissapointment. Not just numbers wise but his energy level is really low on road games and he doesnt seem like he wants to be here. Im hoping that Paxson only has to give up maybe Deng or Gordon +PJ and Duhon for Gasol and I'd be happy.

Who would you rather keep Gordon or Deng? I keep switching back and forth. One week Gordon is on and the next its Lu Deng. IMO, Gordon is the most replaceable guy because you can always find a 6'1 jump shooting guard but Luol Deng is a little tougher to find. His slashing ability has improved but If I were Pax and your planning on keeping Tyrus Thomas, you almost have to trade Deng because if Gasol is here its likely he will be the Power Forward and Tyrus will have to move over to small forward which is the position he probably will wind up being.

[Balta1701-B]

Who would you rather keep Gordon or Deng? I keep switching back and forth. One week Gordon is on and the next its Lu Deng. IMO, Gordon is the most replaceable guy because you can always find a 6'1 jump shooting guard but Luol Deng is a little tougher to find. His slashing ability has improved but If I were Pax and your planning on keeping Tyrus Thomas, you almost have to trade Deng because if Gasol is here its likely he will be the Power Forward and Tyrus will have to move over to small forward which is the position he probably will wind up being.

But, like I was just saying, you're assuming that trading either Deng or Gordon is an option. We folk sitting out here can pretend all we want that we could get a deal done for Gasol by moving just one of those 2 guys along with PJ, draft picks, etc., but honestly, we have no idea. It could very well be that the Grizzlies won't move Gasol without going for Deng + Gordon + TT + Brown. They're fully within their rights to ask for that, and there's no way the Bulls should do that deal. SI this morning was wondering if anything without both Deng and Gordon would be enough.

We simply have no idea what Jerry West wants for Gasol. He can ask for the moon...he simply doesn't have to make a deal he doesn't like.

[spiderman]

But, like I was just saying, you're assuming that trading either Deng or Gordon is an option. We folk sitting out here can pretend all we want that we could get a deal done for Gasol by moving just one of those 2 guys along with PJ, draft picks, etc., but honestly, we have no idea. It could very well be that the Grizzlies won't move Gasol without going for Deng + Gordon + TT + Brown. They're fully within their rights to ask for that, and there's no way the Bulls should do that deal. SI this morning was wondering if anything without both Deng and Gordon would be enough.

We simply have no idea what Jerry West wants for Gasol. He can ask for the moon...he simply doesn't have to make a deal he doesn't like.

There are pros and cons to both -

Trading Gordon means you move your closer late in games, but hopefully with Gasol, the team gets better shots througout the game, and maybe even Gasol can close out some of those games. You also have the opportunity to move back to a normal backcourt with Hinrich at PG, and probably Sefalosha at SG in the future (though Duhon could start the rest of the season) or possibly a player like Adrian Griffin.


Trading Deng mean you move your most consistent player, and player who seems to be improving at a nice rate. However, he's being moved at a position of strength - Nocioni is a solid NBA player, and Tyrus Thomas could end up playing SF as well.

Either way, a tough call, but the more I watch the Bulls, the more they need a big man.

[Balta1701-B]

There are pros and cons to both -

Trading Gordon means you move your closer late in games, but hopefully with Gasol, the team gets better shots througout the game, and maybe even Gasol can close out some of those games. You also have the opportunity to move back to a normal backcourt with Hinrich at PG, and probably Sefalosha at SG in the future (though Duhon could start the rest of the season) or possibly a player like Adrian Griffin.
Trading Deng mean you move your most consistent player, and player who seems to be improving at a nice rate. However, he's being moved at a position of strength - Nocioni is a solid NBA player, and Tyrus Thomas could end up playing SF as well.

Either way, a tough call, but the more I watch the Bulls, the more they need a big man.

I'm not disagreeing with you on saying the Bulls need a big man...i'm disagreeing with your contention that we might be able to choose either Gordon or Deng. The longer the Grizzlies hold out, the more I'm thinking that we won't have to make that choice, because they're going to want both, and it seems they may want even more than that.

[spiderman]

I'm not disagreeing with you on saying the Bulls need a big man...i'm disagreeing with your contention that we might be able to choose either Gordon or Deng. The longer the Grizzlies hold out, the more I'm thinking that we won't have to make that choice, because they're going to want both, and it seems they may want even more than that.

IF the Grizzlies want both Deng and Gordon, Paxson isn't going to make that trade. I wouldn't be surprised if Memphis' original demands were for both, but there's no way that trade would happen, from the Bulls perspective.

I'm also not sure that we can choose which player, Deng or Gordon, to include. I'm sure Memphis likes one more than the other as well.

I think as we get closer to the deadline, Memphis will become more realistic IF they are hoping to move Gasol on the deadline. If they do, we'll see how much Paxson wants Gasol as well.

I think though that making a move for Gasol solves a long-term problem, but doesn't necessarily make the Bulls a better team this season - if they lose Deng or Gordon, and add Gasol, they are a more balanced team, but I'm not sure they get any farther in the playoffs.

[GreatScott82]

IF the Grizzlies want both Deng and Gordon, Paxson isn't going to make that trade. I wouldn't be surprised if Memphis' original demands were for both, but there's no way that trade would happen, from the Bulls perspective.

I'm also not sure that we can choose which player, Deng or Gordon, to include. I'm sure Memphis likes one more than the other as well.

I think as we get closer to the deadline, Memphis will become more realistic IF they are hoping to move Gasol on the deadline. If they do, we'll see how much Paxson wants Gasol as well.

I think though that making a move for Gasol solves a long-term problem, but doesn't necessarily make the Bulls a better team this season - if they lose Deng or Gordon, and add Gasol, they are a more balanced team, but I'm not sure they get any farther in the playoffs.

Very good post. Almost my thoughts exactly.
Here are my Pros and Cons of this deal shall it to occur this weekend.
Pros: We finally have that low post presence that we have been aching to get back since the Curry days. Paxon knows how hard it is to get a low post scorer, a guy with size that can spread out the team and give the Bulls much more scoring options. You never know how long it can take for a player to develop if you wait until the offseason and address this nead via the draft. And at this point in the Bulls development process there is no time to take a step backward and wait for a player to develop. Unless of coarse you can somehow draft a guy like Noah or Odgen, but with the way the Knicks are playing that doesn't look to be the case.
Trading Scenario #1: Bulls trade Deng and others. Trading Deng can come back and haunt the Bulls, but for now they have Nocioni and Thomas in the wings who can come in and quickly put up decent #s at the SF possition.
Trading Scenario #2: Bulls trade Gordon and others. It is much easier to replace a SG than it is a SF with tremendous upside like Deng. The Bulls can hope Sefolosha and Duhon can finish the rest of the year with decent minutes at the SG possition. This will give the Bulls a good oppurtunity to see what they have in the Sefolosha kid as well. With guys like Hinrich, Deng and Nocioni, you still have a solid amount of guys who can score beyond the perimiter with Gordon's absence and Sefolosha's development.
Cons: Getting a solid player like Gasol is going to cost a lot. Obviously it will cost them one of there 2 future allstars in Deng or Gordon. As spiderman said in his post, it will make the team more balanced this year, but it won't make the team that much better THIS year. What they will essentially be doing is replacing Deng or Gordon's 20 points/game with Gasol's. We all have to remember also that Gordon and Deng are still very young. And there potential of being great players are still a very good posibility. I think with Gasol we are seeing his prime.

If I were Pax: I would trade Gordon for Gasol. Deng is getting better and better and is the more consistent out of the 2. Yeah Gordon can come in at anytime and score 40 points or come in and hit the game winning shot, but other times he can score only 6 points and because of that we probably will lose that game.
So i expect Pax do get the deal done by this weekend. REMEMBER YOU WON'T WIN A TITLE WITHOUT TAKING MAJOR RISKS!