Chicago Bulls Rumors: Pau Gasol, Paul Pierce on free agent wish list
By Josh Hill
The Chicago Bulls are looking to remain focused on their pursuit of Carmelo Anthony, but K.C. Johnson from the Chicago Tribune is reporting that there are more than a few different names on their free agent wish list.
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With the focus on Melo at the moment, the Bulls are casting a wide net to make sure that if they miss on Melo they’re prepared to fall back on contingency plans rather quickly. We saw them do this back in 2010 when Carlos Boozer was the consolation prize for missing out on LeBron James and Chris Bosh and Johnson suggests that Pau Gasol and Paul Pierce are among the be names we could hear as backup plans this offseason.
Today all about Melo, but Bulls began casting wide net for contingency plans last nite. Contacted agents for Gasol, Pierce, Hinrich, etc.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) July 1, 2014
Gasol is an interesting option as he would work well in Tom Thibodeau’s defensive schemes and provide a big body down low for the Bulls to play with. Pierce may be an option even if the Bulls land Melo as he’s the type of veteran who is now more of a role player than anything else but is still valuable to a team’s chemistry.
There’s no saying that the Clippers or Nets won’t steal Pierce away and Gasol hasn’t totally ruled out a return to the Lakers, but the Bulls are casting a wide net in free agency and Carmelo Anthony isn’t their only option on the open market this summer.