The Chicago Bulls are coming into the summer looking to sign Carmelo Anthony, but if he stays with the NY Knicks, the team may go hard after Pau Gasol and to get that deal done, the Bulls may look at a trade for Carlos Boozer or they could hit his contract with the amnesty clause to get it off the salary cap.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, Gasol is the top target for a number of teams, including the Bulls and Knicks, as they are hoping to pair him with Carmelo if he signs with the team. The dominoes are getting ready to fall, but so far no one has signed the big deals, with LeBron, Carmelo and Chris Bosh waiting for things to play out. Gasol is waiting patiently to see what happens with those players and he has a good chance of heading back to the Lakers, as they have his Bird rights and can sign him easier than other teams.
Boozer made over $15 million last season and now he looks like he is on his way out with the Bulls after the way he played, as he basically was a two quarter player for Chicago. The Bulls were in on Carmelo and they were looking at a potential trade with Carlos Boozer to get it done, but so far there has been no movement on that deal. Gasol is one of the best free agents on the market despite his age and he could be the main piece for a championship team next season.
The Lakers have Pau Gasol in their sights as well and pitched Anthony on playing with Gasol and Bryant along with Julius Randle, who the team picked with the seventh overall pick in the draft. According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Knicks have also targeted Gasol as a player to pair alongside Anthony if he signs back with the team, as he has a connection to Pau Gasol from his time in Los Angeles. The Lakers have a better chance to sign Gasol and that could affect what Anthony does, as the team holds his Bird rights and that means they can maneuver with the salary cap on his contract better than the Knicks, unless of course the teams work out an interesting sign and trade.
Another option for the Bulls is Luol Deng. The relationship between Chicago and the small forward is somewhere strained. The two attempted to agree on a contract extension last offseason, but Deng was requesting more money than Chicago was willing to give. They then opted to trade the forward to the Cleveland Cavaliers where he publically stated how unhappy he was with the move. Now, Deng comes back into the picture if the Bulls are out of options. It remains to be seen whether they would be able to agree on a deal the second time around.