That makes sense. ... What players are available that are likely to be better than Gasol, both now and in 2 years? He's aging like Tim Duncan and there's a good chance he'd still be the 2nd best player on our team in 2018 if he re-signed. I'm surprised GarPax don't get more credit for signing him.......it's one of the best FA deals of the last 5 years. I want to resign him and somehow turn one of Niko or Portis into a 2-way wing player. I think that's our best shot going forward. I think the big issue with the team right now isn't Pau Gasol......he's been outstanding and plays well with Jimmy Butler. The bigger issue is that Derrick and Jimmy don't co-exist very well and the bottom half of our roster is terrible. Most great teams have reserves that can create victories on nights your best guys don't have it.....but these Bulls don't have anyone like that. Not even close. Do any of you really see yourself saying "Wow, thank god we had Tony Snell tonight"? It seems laughable. We're lacking high-energy, 2 way players to supplement the top of our roster. Gasol has been fine.
For me, there are way too many unknowns related to the issue of whether or not the Bulls should re-sign Gasol, not the least of which is whether Gasol would be interested. Gasol may end up being the best alternative available to the Bulls when it comes time for them to decide where to spend significant free agent dollars this offseason, but I've gotta tell ya, outbidding the rest of the league on a multi-year contract for a 36 year old who doesn't fit the head coach's preferred style of play makes me something less than elated.
I've never quite understood why Gasol is supposedly such a bad fit for Hoiball. To me it's Jimmy and Derrick that are the odd ducks in his offensive scheme. He's very good from 20 feet out and accurate from 3 point land, albeit on low volume. His outside shooting isn't good enough to completely draw defenses away from Jimmy and Derrick as much as you'd like, but that has more to do with their subpar shooting. Who are the big men we can sign that are as good of shooters as Pau and on the same level of ability? I think the answer is "no one".
