The Chicago Bulls have spent a good portion of their offseason attempting to lure Carmelo Anthony to the Windy City, however with rumors suggesting he may be leaning towards a return to the New York Knicks the Bulls may be forced to move on.
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One such player who the team has had eyes on recently is Pau Gasol and according to the Chicago Tribune, the Bulls are expected to intensify their pursuit of the veteran big man. But it doesn’t look as if they’re wanting to sign Pau Gasol outright, rather hoping to convince the Los Angeles Lakers to agree on a sign-and-trade deal which would send Carlos Boozer back to Hollywood.
"That would intensify the Bulls’ pursuit of Pau Gasol, and league sources indicated the Bulls hope to pursue sign-and-trade options with the Lakers for him involving Carlos Boozer’s expiring salary."
Why the Bulls would make such a move is understandable as they’ve been attempting to rid themselves of Boozer’s salary for some time. However, the Los Angeles Lakers may not be willing to help as such a move isn’t exactly all that beneficial.
Absorbing the contract of Boozer would give them a tradeable asset, but they can also use their cap space in the same manner. Of course, the Lakers will need to hit the NBA’s minimum salary floor but the penalty for not doing so is rather minimal. Even then, I’d venture to guess the Lakers would much prefer to use their available funds in a different way as opposed to having Boozer eat up their cap space, even if it’s only for one season.