NBA Rumors: Bulls want to re-sign, not trade Pau Gasol
According to a report, the Chicago Bulls don’t want to trade Pau Gasol, but rather re-sign him in the off-season.
Pau Gasol has re-established himself as one of the better big men in the NBA during his time with the Chicago Bulls. After taking a pretty generous deal with the Bulls when he signed with them, Gasol’s resurgence is going to get him paid this off-season as a free agent.
Although there have been rumors circulating about whether or not the Bulls should trade Gasol and get something in return instead of losing him for nothing, it doesn’t appear that’s the case for the Bulls. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Bulls would rather re-sign Gasol in the off-season instead of trading him.
As for Pau Gasol ... latest signals out of Chicago are that the Bulls want to RE-SIGN the free agent-to-be. As opposed to trading him
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 27, 2016
With the rising salary cap and Gasol’s play in Chicago, the Bulls are going to have to pay him a nice amount of money to stay in Chicago, which could give great insight into how Chicago aims to navigate the incoming cap spike.
The Bulls also couldn’t trade Gasol right now if they wanted to. Injuries have forced the teams hand and they are now going to be without both Joakim Noah and Nikola Mirotic long term. That leaves them with less depth up front, which it means they would be crazy to trade Gasol away while they try to contend for the Eastern Conference crown.
Joakim Noah and Nikola Mirotic out long term, which naturally gives Bulls more incentive to keep Taj Gibson. PT for Bobby Portis natural now
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 27, 2016
It also means keeping Taj Gibson, another subject of trade rumors for the Bulls. A spot even opens up for rookie Bobby Portis to play as well. The Bulls are excited about the prospects of Portis and it gives them a chance to see what he can do with extended minutes.
The team is going to be leaning on Gasol more than ever to lead the front court and it’s becoming more clear that they want to keep him in Chicago well beyond this season.