NBA trade deadline buzz: Bulls shopping Pau Gasol The Chicago Bulls are aggressively shopping All-Star forward Pau Gasol, league sources told The Vertical. Gasol, 35, can opt out of his contract this summer and become an unrestricted free agent, and Bulls general manager Gar Forman seems determined to move him before Thursday's trade deadline with the hope of bringing back value. Gasol is expected to decline the player option on the $7.4 million owed him in 2016-17. Gasol is averaging 17 points and 10.9 rebounds for the struggling Bulls. Read more http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba-tr...oser-toward-channing-frye-deal-023959300.html
It sounds like the Bulls are trying to give themselves a mini-makeover and shift their window of contention out another year or two by shedding their productive vets. Insisting on keeping Derrick Rose seems like a strange move. Maybe they know there's no use moving him because no one's interested?
Bulls perhaps looking to get under tax threshold or pay less tax. Gasol in a salary dump will be a troubling sign. But par for the course really. The Rudy Gay move would at least be a step in the "win now" direction. Gay is of course a talent and comes off the books along with Rose. Not sure how he would gel alongside Butler and Rose, but I'd rather a move like that for the next 1.5 season than just dumping Gasol for nothing I suppose. Dumping Gasol would perhaps put the Bulls into the lotto though. Perhaps they get lucky again and we get a top 3 pick. Tough to have a strong opinion either way. Kings pick + Bulls lotto pick could be attractive.
Still not entirely sure what the ultimate plan is with the roster. Do they want to load the decks as much as possible and see what they can do with their core? Unload their productive veterans to get an extra lotto pick or two and re-tool with Prime Jimmy + Picks + Cap Space in 2017? Just shed salary to get below the luxury tax? It's hard to say, but it looks like they're gunning for the middle option if they can do it.
Friedell said on Waddle and Silvy that Butler and Hoiberg were clashing and how trading him is the right move today.
