Let's start with the newest information. The team has officially missed out on Carmelo Anthony, who will return to New York with a max deal most likely in place: five years and $129 million. The Bulls could only offer 4 and 73 with what they had, but that they have a roster more built to win right now was their top selling point. That wasn't enough in the end. Anthony was always favored to return to New York. There was more money involved, his family is being raised there and given how his wife has developed her own following, I wouldn't be shocked if she played a factor here.
Sadly, this isn't the first time in the post-Jordan era the Bulls have flirted with a big star coming to Chicago. Past names like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady have come so close to becoming Bulls, but in the end, they've all taken their talents elsewhere. Though I knew this in the back of my mind already, my Tribune co-worker Luis Medina brought it to my attention and feels it's enough of a trend that something common has to be involved. He has agreed to make a guest post about this in the near future.
Another big name that has been linked to the Bulls before is Pau Gasol, who's older than he was when his rumors surfaced, but his prospects of landing in Chicago are more likely now. Late last night, the Spanish newspaper Marca reported the Bulls are closing in on the big man. It has come down to them or San Antonio in this matter. The big hangup appears to be working out a sign-and-trade to compensate the Lakers for the power forward. A third team could be the key to make this deal go through, but if the parties can't come to an agreement, Gasol is poised to become a Spur instead. All of this came about after the Bulls have shifted their priorities from Anthony, about whom they became extremely pessimistic about their chances to land him. That came to pass this afternoon.
I won't go into how a Gasol addition impacts the Bulls until it becomes official, but I will say I'll be more inclined to side with my boy Luis' stance on the front office failures over the past 14 years if this falls through. This offseason has been all about improving the club to the point where they challenge for supremacy in the East. With Anthony out of the picture, all the energy has focused on Gasol and hopefully, finalizing a deal with Nikola Mirotic. Missing out on any big name would certainly raise a lot of questions on how the Bulls negotiate with free agents. Not that many don't have questions already, but I can just see all the scrutiny that would come to pass if Gasol is taking passes from Tony Parker instead of Derrick Rose next season.
Something positive has to happen quickly for the Bulls if they want to be seen as true players in the wide open East. LeBron going back to Ohio and Carmelo staying the Big Apple have somewhat painted a picture of how the conference will look next year, but a lot of decisions remain to be settled. Now is the time for Gar Forman and John Paxson to show where their team will be for the near future. The last thing they want is to end up with the same roster from the past few years, but with slightly different names to fill the appropriate roles. Bulls fans don't want that. They want a team that can score and win. I'll take anything to appease the masses, even if losing out on Melo has some already calling this offseason a failure.
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