Is Pau Gasol Really On The Chopping Block?
Are the Chicago Bulls actively shopping Pau Gasol, or just keeping their options open?
As the NBA trade deadline draws closer, so increase the number of media reports across the board. So what is the latest talk regarding the Chicago Bulls? Well, it seems as though they are considering dealing out Pau Gasol.
The Bulls, who are not generally known for being too active around trade deadline, have been a topic of speculation for the past several days. Going into the 2015-16 season with an optimistic outlook of the future, the organization is now seemingly in pretty big trouble. And it goes beyond just where they stand.
At 27-25, Chicago is in seventh place in the Eastern Conference. As of Wednesday, they are half a game behind the Indiana Pacers and 1.5 games behind the Miami Heat. To say this is far from where Bulls fans thought their team would be at this point in the season, is an understatement.
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Unfortunately, the organization does not have much to work with in terms of trades either.
After head coach Fred Hoiberg benched Joakim Noah in the fall, it became pretty obvious that the front office would try to move him at some point during the year. But a reoccurring shoulder injury has forced him to miss the rest of the year, severely diminishing his trade value.
Similarly, Nikola Mirotic is out after undergoing an appendectomy.
Bobby Portis, Tony Snell and Doug McDermott have all underperformed thus far.
While a proposed Taj Gibson to the Toronto Raptors trade has been turned down.
And right now, there is nothing to suggest that the team wants to get rid of Derrick Rose, despite there being a chance of Chicago not re-signing him.
It is then easy to see why Gasol would be on the chopping block. But the question is, is he really?
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, the Bulls are “aggressively shopping” the big man around.
However, other sources say otherwise:
Bulls have taken some calls on Pau Gasol but aren't actively shopping him, sources told ESPN
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) February 17, 2016
On the one hand, as proven above, if Chicago really does want to make some changes, Gasol would not be a bad guy to start with. He is currently averaging 17 points and 10.9 rebounds a game, and can opt out of his contract this summer to become an unrestricted free agent.
But it also somewhat seems counterintuitive to get rid of arguably your second-best player.
Then of course comes the topic of where Gasol would go, and who the Bulls would ask for in return.
With less than 24 hours to go till the deadline, there will definitely be developments on this story. So far, Miami Heat writer Tim Reynolds brought up the possibility of the 35-year-old making his way to South Beach:
Considering Pau Gasol wanted to come to Miami before ... well, you know ... one wonders if this becomes a landing point now.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) February 17, 2016
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Will Chicago make any moves? I am inclined to say no. But this is the beauty of the NBA. In a blink of an eye, everything can change. So stay tuned.