Pau! Right Here in Chi-Town!

To your right, you'll find one of the many cards from Sports Illustrated for Kids I collected and posted on my bedroom wall over the years.  I've lived in the same bedroom since 1995, but haven't put any new cards up since 2004.  So with each passing year, the number of active athletes taped on there has decreased to the point where not many are left.  A young Pau Gasol is on one of those cards and now, he's the newest Bull.

Only a few hours after Carmelo Anthony took more money to stay with the Knicks, the stronger and shaggier Gasol tweeted he had decided to bring his services to Chicago following some meditation.  How the 34-year-old forward/center will officially be signed is not yet known.  Sign-and-trade talks between the Bulls and Lakers broke down, so he will be a direct signing instead.

To clear the cap space needed to make the acquisition official, additional moves will have to be made, the first of which likely being a trade of Greg Smith to the Mavericks.  Smith never saw action when he was with the Bulls.  Other players who should be on the way out as a consequence are Mike James, Ronnie Brewer and Lou Amundson, all of which had non-guaranteed deals.

Of course, the biggest decision connected to this is what to do with Carlos Boozer.  By Wednesday, they must decide if he will be amnestied, thus bringing his large salary off the books.  He would be placed on waivers and if no one else claims him, he would become an unrestricted free agent.  What happens to Boozer after the clause is exercised though matters less to the Bulls than having enough room to also sign Nikola Mirotic.

Gasol is older now than he was when his game was more highly touted.  The Bulls tried bringing him over before, but he's spent the last six years with the Lakers.  Perhaps this is a better-late-than-never scenario with how open the East has become.  Although this team might have been better off with the younger version, he still provides both a much better scoring and passing presence in the low post than Boozer ever did.  His basketball IQ is also very high, which should make up for his natural lack of a defensive aspect.  Besides, on a team coached by Tom Thibodeau, he'll have his teammates pick up the slack for him when he's on the floor.  That's not to say he should avoid playing defense altogether though.

Gasol has had injury troubles in recent years, but remains as productive as he's ever been.  Discounting a 49-game campaign in 2012-13, he has never averaged less than 17.4 points per game in a season, which he achieved last year.  In 60 games, he also put up averages of 9.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.5 blocks.  In 13 NBA seasons, his totals are 18.3 points, 9.2 boards, 3.3 assists and 1.6 blocks.  So the Bulls are getting the same player, only older.

The question is whether this is the piece that will get them back to the conference finals or better.  Gasol won two titles in Los Angeles as the second scoring option to Kobe Bryant.  He definitely makes the Bulls a better offensive club while leaving the strong defense relatively unaffected.  Is that enough in the East though?  After Cleveland perhaps, it's so wide open, you could throw darts blindfolded and easily come up with next year's playoff teams save for a few really bad ones (Philadelphia, Orlando, etc.).  I like where the Bulls are right now.  If they can't get out of the East, they'll at least get close.  However, if they want compete for the NBA title, this might be the year to do it while LeBron and his new crew take this year to figure things out.

It's also worth wondering if Gasol or Taj Gibson will start at the four this year.  Conventional wisdom says it should be Gasol, but the current club makeup suggests Gibson is the better option.  This is where Thibodeau is in charge.  All indications are that Gibson and Joakim Noah will be the defensive closers.  However, Thibodeau always started Boozer before benching him in the fourth.  With Mirotic's impending signing, that creates a surplus of big men, but all of them will play their parts, whether it's to be this guy or that guy.  Gasol will provide offense and smarts, Gibson plays well on both ends and Mirotic will find his right footing with the proper tutelage of his coaches and fellow frontcourt mates.

Aside from Rose's return, there won't be a bigger acquisition for the Bulls this offseason.  I know it's not Carmelo and the front office's inability to secure these big names via free agency is certainly an issue.  We'll look at that another day though.  For now, let's celebrate one of the best international players of the past decade-plus choosing to come to the West Side.  We could be about to see the last of what makes him special in our uniform, so cherish what he has to offer.  While we're at it, a nice, long playoff run with him would be optimal.