Steve Jones

Pau Gasol could help the Bulls, but will Chicago be willing to pay the price to get him out of Memphis and into the Windy City?

That's one of the key questions looming as the Feb. 22 NBA trading deadline draws closer.

Besides Gasol, other big names are drawing their share of trade rumors.

The list includes Jason Kidd and Vince Carter of the Nets, Mike Bibby, Brad Miller, and Ron Artest of the Kings, and not at all surprisingly, Corey Maggette of the Clippers.

So will it be deal or no deal for one, a few, or if the extremely improbable were to occur, all of the aforementioned big names?

A closer look at their situations and those of their teams should provide a better bearing on whether they'll be changing their NBA addresses later this month.

Memphis blues for Gasol
It hasn't been real pleasant for Gasol for about the last month or so, ever since he went to Memphis owner Michael Heisley and asked for a trade. There's been criticism from some of the local media, and the home fans have booed him.

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I can understand why Gasol wants out of Memphis, and I can also understand why the Grizzlies may be interested in trading him.

For Gasol, this is season number six with the Grizzlies. He's played under five different coaches, and the best finish by a team he's been on has been third in its division.

Gasol has been on three playoff teams and he has yet to walk off the court a winner in the postseason. If you're counting -- and the 7-foot Barcelona-born forward has hopefully stopped doing so in the interest of not putting himself through more self-inflicting pain -- that's 0-12 for Memphis in the NBA's second season.

For Gasol, one would think a change of scenery would be welcomed.

As for Memphis, after 50, 45, and 49 wins the last three seasons, the bottom has fallen out. From here on out the most interesting thing for the Grizzlies is whether they, Boston, or Philadelphia wins the least games this season, and thereby gets the most ping pong balls in the NBA draft lottery.

Management has to make a decision on how they want to go about rebuilding their team, but they have probably gone as far as they can go with Gasol as the lead guy.

A need that could be filled
One of the teams that could be targeting Gasol is the Bulls. Chicago definitely needs inside scoring, a go-to-guy who can produce points down low.

Gasol is that guy, and if Chicago acquires him, it becomes a better offensive team since it will be effective scoring from both the inside and outside. Gasol can also rebound and block shots.

I get the sense that there's uncertainty on Chicago's part over whether getting Gasol will make them a better team.

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Maybe the Bulls are a bit gun shy. Maybe that's because they made a mistake -- one they are not ready to admit it -- in believing that center Ben Wallace, signed as free agent from Detroit last offseason, was going to make them a team that can go deep in the playoffs.

Wallace as anyone who follows the NBA knows is a rebounding machine, and that will help any postseason push the Bulls make, but his presence does not come close to alleviating Chicago's accute need for consistent scoring inside.

To get Gasol, the Bulls are saying they don't want to part with any of their young players, and I think that's the wrong approach.

The present makeup of the Bulls' roster will not lead them to the Eastern Conference finals, and it may not even be strong enough for Chicago to get out of the first round of the playoffs. The mission of any management is to put together a team that can advance in the playoffs -- not quickly exit them.

Structuring a deal
If they send Gasol to the Bulls, the Grizzlies should probably make Luol Deng the player they covet most in return. Deng leads Chicago in field goal percentage, and he is a slashing, driving kind of player, who also has a good mid-range jump shot.

Now in his third NBA season, Deng's game has improved. He also does a good job at the defensive end. Maybe it's Gasol for Deng and Michael Sweetney.

Sweetney is the only one of the Bulls' reserves who is an inside scorer. In my view, the 6-foot-8, 260 pounder is being penalized for not having a svelte body, but he has unquestioned ability to score inside.

The Bulls seem reluctant to part with shooting guard Ben Gordon, who is both their leading and most explosive scorer.

The Grizzlies may see greater value in Gordon than they do in Deng and Sweetney, but from Chicago's standpoint a combination of Gasol, Gordon, Kirk Hinrich and some others, would get the Bulls thinking they can probably move up in an Eastern Conference which truly lacks a dominant team.

The way to approach any addition and/or subtraction to a team is to determine as best possible whether such moves will make the team better.

There's no question Gasol would make the Bulls better because they desperately need someone to whom they can throw the ball to inside and have that guy get a high percentage shot.

Chicago might very well have its finger on the trigger of a deal for Gasol, but will the fire the bullet?

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