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Chicago Bulls May Be Starting To Think About A Future Without Pau Gasol And Derrick Rose

By Daniel Benjamin
Published on: 07:41 PST, Jan 19, 2016

The Chicago Bulls championship hopes were dealt a major blow with the recent news that Joakim Noah is out for the rest of the season, and it may be time for the Bulls to look to the future. Noah dislocated his left shoulder against the Dallas Mavericks this past Friday and is expected to be out four to six months. He underwent surgery this morning.

Chicago is 24-18 on the season after defeating the Detroit Pistons (111-101) on Monday and currently sit third in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Bulls are just four and a half games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers (28-11) for the top spot in the conference. However, they are also just four games ahead of the Orlando Magic, who are currently ninth in the conference.

Chicago doesn’t look like a championship squad, as the Bulls haven’t found any consistency. The team has also dealt with several injuries to key players – Derrick Rose and Kirk Hinrich have missed several games this year, while Mike Dunleavy has yet to play this season. Also, Rose has struggled this season after dealing with several injuries. Chicago is 8-9 on the road this season.

Now with the loss of Noah, the Bulls have lost their best interior defensive player. Noah hadn’t played much this season under first-year coach Fred Hoiberg, but his rebounding and playmaking ability will be sorely missed.

Noah will be a free agent after this season and is not expected to be with the club next year, although Sam Smith of Bulls.com believes the team should re-sign the 30-year-old to a short-term contract. Pau Gasol, who has a player option for next season, Hinrich, Aaron Brooks, and E’Twaun Moore are eligible to be unrestricted free agents this summer. Then, in 2017, Rose and Taj Gibson will be unrestricted free agents while Nikola Mirotic and Tony Snell are slated to be restricted free agents.

So, the question becomes is now the time for the Bulls to think about their future now and trade Gasol and/or Rose?

The Bulls are now Jimmy Butler’s team, and the team has eight players that 26-years-old or younger. Butler has been sensational especially of late. The 26-year-old has four 30-point games in January — he has seven all season — which includes a career-high 53 against the Philadelphia 76ers (January 14), where he made 15-of-30 shots from the field. He also picked up his fourth double-double that game as he hauled in 10 rebounds.

Butler is averaging 26.5 points while shooting 45.9 percent from the floor and 32.4 percent from beyond the arc to go along with 6.7 assists and 5.3 caroms this month. He has improved every year and is currently averaging a career-high 22.4 points along with 5.0 rebounds a career-best 4.4 dimes.

With the Bulls now unlikely able to compete with the Cavs for the Conference title, they may want to look to trade Gasol at the very least.

Gasol was terrific yesterday against the Pistons, producing his 22nd double-double of the season. Gasol finished with a season-high 31 points to go along with 12 rebounds and three assists along with three blocks. He was 13-of-18 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free throw line.

Gasol is on pace to have his worst season offensively, when playing in 50 or more games, as he is averaging 16.6 points and shooting 46.6 percent from the field. He is still doing a good job on the board and has been active on the defensive end, blocking 2.1 shots a game. Gasol has dealt with shoulder and Achilles’ soreness in recent weeks, according to Bleacher Report.

Nick Friedell of ESPN believes this is the best time to trade Gasol, who will only command a few future second-round draft picks and possibly an expiring contract in return. Even though that doesn’t sound like much to receive in return for a player with Gasol’s pedigree, he is 35-years-old and would likely opt out of his contract at the end of the season, meaning Chicago could lose him and receive nothing in return.

Trading Gasol would also give rookie Bobby Portis more experience and give Cameron Bairstow and Cristiano Felicio a chance to develop.

Portis has shown flashes of his potential this season and will likely see more time with Noah out. The six-foot-11 forward is averaging 6.4 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from the three-point line in 14.1 minutes of action off the bench. The 20-year-old has produced two double-doubles in his 20 games.

Portis, who was drafted with the No. 22 overall pick, is a very intriguing prospect as he is a high-energy player who can score inside and out. He is also a good rebounder and rim protector.

Bairstow, the Bulls No. 49 pick in 2014, has seen very limited action this year. The 25-year-old has appeared in eight games, averaging 1.0 points and 1.3 rebounds in 3.8 minutes of action.

Bairstow is a banger who has a decent face-up game but is not much of a defensive factor. The University of New Mexico product made 18 appearances last year, including one start, and didn’t make any impact.

Felicio is a wide-body who is very strong and is a good rebounder. The 23-year-old has appeared in two games for a total of four minutes. Felicio has also spent time in the D-League this season.

Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune believes that the Bulls also should look into trading Rose.

Rose has struggled on the offensive, shooting above 50 percent from the field just three times in the last seven games. He is also not distributing the ball very effectively. Rose has missed six games this and is averaging a career-low 15.0 points and also doling out just 4.8 assists a game.

[Photo by Carlos Osario/AP]

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