Rumors about Gasol fly as NBA trade deadline approaches

Chicago Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg spent a few years working in basketball operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves, so he knows what the NBA trade deadline is all about.

"People just lie to each other up until those last 48 hours, and then conversations finally become serious," he said Wednesday.

So, according to those guidelines, talks started getting serious on Tuesday afternoon. The deadline strikes Thursday at 2 p.m. Central time.

And the part about lying became relevant, too. Yahoo.com's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday the Bulls are shopping center Pau Gasol. A few days earlier, espn.com's Brian Windhorst suggested the Bulls' goal is to re-sign Gasol if he opts out of his contract, as expected.

Both reports are correct, according to a league source. The Bulls are going through the ritual of finding out what they could get for Gasol. If that doesn't pan out, they could try to re-sign him this summer.

Free agency will be a risky proposition across the NBA, since the salary cap is expected to take a huge jump to roughly $90 million, which means just about every team in the league will have a hefty amount of cap space.

The Bulls may be counting on the fact that Gasol appreciates the big-city culture offered by Chicago. He frequently attends opera, symphony and theater.

But Gasol doesn't appreciate dysfunction in the Bulls' organization. The power struggle with the front office and coach Tom Thibodeau during the past few seasons has left Hoiberg trying to contend with a team culture that runs counter to the "all that matters is winning" attitude.

It would seem logical for the Bulls to re-sign either Gasol or Joakim Noah, who also will be a free agent this summer.

Those two haven't meshed particularly well. But which player makes more sense to keep? That's a difficult question right now, especially with Noah out for the year with a shoulder injury.

If the Bulls lost Gasol and Noah, who would play center next season? Another difficult question, with free-agent money set to fly this summer.

Taj Gibson also offers some trade value. One published rumor had the Bulls offering Gibson to Toronto for Patrick Patterson. If true, the Bulls probably also were seeking a draft pick from the Raptors.

Gibson discussed the topic after Wednesday's practice.

"Yeah, I would be surprised (if he were traded), but at the end of the day I understand that it's a part of the business," he said. "I wouldn't feel any kind of way, because at the end of the day I still get paid a lot of money to play the game I love."

The Bulls have some recent history of making moves before the deadline when things aren't going well.

They unloaded Luol Deng and Marquis Teague in 2014. Then there was a three-year run from 2008-10 that started when they sent Ben Wallace to Cleveland for Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden.

A year later, they got rid of Hughes and Gooden for John Salmons and Brad Miller. A year after that, they sent Salmons to Milwaukee for Hakim Warrick. Not franchise-altering moves, but they did something.

The urgency to make a move this year is open to debate. The Bulls headed into the break losing 13 of 18 games, but they should get two of their top four scorers, Jimmy Butler and Nikola Mirotic, back from injury in a few weeks.

"Everyone has their opinions," Gibson said. "It's really hard to have your complete opinion until everyone is completely healthy.

"You've got to understand. We've got a new coach. We have the same players, but new little young guys. We've still got to work through it."

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