Trades That Should Happen: Gasol to the Bulls

With the NBA trade deadline looming, the FanHouse looks at potential trades out there that would make the NBA a better, brighter, place.

Yes, this Gasol-to-Chicago rumor's been on the table so long it might as well be bottled, placed next to the salt and pepper and sprinkled liberally on chicken. But at the end of the day -- er, make that Thursday at 2:59 pm -- I believe it's a move the Bulls organization has to make. Two major reasons why:

1. Interior scoring. As in, the Bulls have absolutely none of it. But hey, don't ask me; check what Ben Gordon had to say when questioned about his team's "lack" of inside presence:

"Just the way this team is set up, the load is on the guards," Gordon said. "We rely so much on our draw-and-kick game. It's tough sometimes when we can't go down [to the post] consistently. We have guys who can score, who can pick-and-pop. But we don't have anybody who can go down there five, six times in a row and get something."

Well said, Benjamin. (Can I call you Benjamin?) Adding Gasol, who is easily one of the best back to the basket scoring big men in the world, would finally allow the Bulls to stop living and dying on the jump shot. Their inside-outside game would be deadly.

2. The Big Ben/championship "now" factor. When general manager John Paxson signed 31-year-old Ben Wallace to a four-year, $60 million deal this past summer, the message he sent to Bulls' fans was loud and clear: We're serious about taking the next step. Well, the thing is, I'm pretty sure Pax hadn't intended "the next step" to mean "marginal regular season improvement." Bearing in mind Big Ben doesn't have many more championship runs left in the ol' tank, Pax really ought to keep rolling the dice on his act now plans.

Luol Deng, Thabo Sefolosha, PJ Brown's expiring contract and a future first round pick for Gasol and one of the Grizzlies fatter contracts -- Damon Stoudamire, Stromile Swift or Brian Cardinal's -- might just be enough to strike a deal for both sides.