Pau Gasol says he's signing with the Chicago Bulls

[pwaldo]

http://espn.go.com/chicago/nba/story...-chicago-bulls

The Chicago Bulls have reached an agreement with free-agent center Pau Gasol on a multiyear deal.

Gasol announced that he had chosen the Bulls on his Twitter feed Saturday.

It hasn't been easy. After meditating it a lot I've chosen to play with the Chicago Bulls. Looking forward to this new chapter of my career

[Tagged]

This doesn't make them finals material, they have loses that counter this gain. They are better, but not by a lot. Rose is the big ??????

[duke74]

If Gasol and Rose stay healthy this is the 2nd best team in the east behind the pacers. Problem is they have to trade someone or amnesty Boozer to make cap room to sign Gasol, he isn't signed yet its just a tweet right now. The best move of the night was Paul Pierce signing a 2 year deal with the Wizards, veteran leadership on that team makes the Wiz very dangerous.

[pwaldo]

This doesn't make them finals material, they have loses that counter this gain. They are better, but not by a lot. Rose is the big ??????

I think the big factor next season for everybody is going to be Derrick Rose. If he is healthy and good it could make a huge difference versus if he isn't a factor at all. The East is basically a toss up of a couple of teams and depending on what Rose gives the Bulls they move up and down that list. If they were playing in the West I wouldn't see the Bulls as a team that could make the NBA Finals but in the East why not.

[duke74]

Pwaldo I wont disagree with you that rose needs to be healthy for psychological impact on the team that hes healthy and will stay healthy the entire season. But I think it is more important that Gasol stays healthy because in the championship years in LA Gasol and Bynum were healthy and they were the best interior passing tandem in the league, which was a huge part of that teams success. Can you imagine what Gasol and Noah will be able to to do if they stay healthy, because Noah is 10 times the player Bynum was with LA. But they still need a scorer who can create his shot and I don't know if Rose is that guy anymore, we'll see.

Another reason I think Gasols health is more important is because we've seen how Thibodeau can manufacture productive point guards out of bums, example Nate Robinson and DJ Augustine but he cant manufacture production out of a power forward like Boozer. They also need to resign Hinrich for defensive purposes.

[pwaldo]

Pwaldo I wont disagree with you that rose needs to be healthy for psychological impact on the team that hes healthy and will stay healthy the entire season. But I think it is more important that Gasol stays healthy because in the championship years in LA Gasol and Bynum were healthy and they were the best interior passing tandem in the league, which was a huge part of that teams success. Can you imagine what Gasol and Noah will be able to to do if they stay healthy, because Noah is 10 times the player Bynum was with LA. But they still need a scorer who can create his shot and I don't know if Rose is that guy anymore, we'll see.

Another reason I think Gasols health is more important is because we've seen how Thibodeau can manufacture productive point guards out of bums, example Nate Robinson and DJ Augustine but he cant manufacture production out of a power forward like Boozer. They also need to resign Hinrich for defensive purposes.

I was just assuming he'd be healthy next year but somebody like Rose I can't put a finger on what the Bulls will get out of him. Like you can pencil in the numbers you'd expect out of Gasol but what's good for Rose? He's a guy who could end up playing zero games for you and he's won an MVP before. So you have a wide range of what he could contribute.

[tekc8083]

Rose will never be the same player or have the MVP type year, just isn't going to happen now. Still will be a valuable asset and a scoring threat, quality ball handler and passer, but not the same guy he was before his injury.

i am guessing his average ppg will be somewhere around 15-18, with 8-10 assists a night and that is IF the Bulls get lucky and he stays healthy all year

[ajcorleone]

Gasol will be exposed now as a softee. Noah does not garner a double team so Gasol will be getting banged around