The Chicago Bulls are not the team they were hoping to be this year which has them getting linked to a number of trades at the deadline. Pau Gasol is at the center of talks after he told the Chicago Tribune he planned on opting out of his contract this offseason and testing free agency in hopes of getting more money. While teams are showing plenty of interest in Gasol, the Bulls are not ready to make a move with the deadline hours away.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, the Bulls are listening to calls in regards to Gasol in hopes of getting something in return for the power forward on the chance that he departs in the summer. Gasol is currently averaging 17.0 points and 10.9 rebounds per game, but any team that trades for him could risk losing him come free agency which is making deals hard to determine.
According to Wojnarowski, the Sacramento Kings are showing significant interest in the forward as they are prepared to offer up Ben McLemore and Kosta Koufos in deal. The Kings have been shopping McLemore in trades heading into the Thursday deadline. This is the only significant interest the Bulls have received in Gasol and it might not be enough to get the team to sell at the deadline.
Right now, the Bulls cannot afford to give up Gasol. Jimmy Butler is out with a knee injury. Joakim Noah is already out for the year with a shoulder injury. Now, ESPN's Nick Friedell is reporting the return of Nikola Mirotic is unknown after the forward underwent a second procedure following complications to an appendectomy. He has stressed he plans on playing again this season, but with two bigs sidelined, the Bulls cannot give up Gasol simply for depth purposes.
"The one thing I know that I will do the best job I can to get on the floor soon and help my teammates. We will see. Everything is individual. Each day, see how I will progress. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later," Mirotic said, via ESPN.com.
Gasol could be having a change in tune in regards to his future with Chicago. Wojnarowski is reporting the forward is favoring a return to Chicago in free agency. He has a $7.7 million player option to work with in 2016, but he is hoping for a pay raise. It is unknown if the Bulls will offer him more money than that considering his age and stats.