Anyone with ESPNinsider please...

[zocool16]

can u post the article on pau gasol for sale? thank you

[johnpaulwall21]

tha spurs aint gettin him

[mabber]

can u post the article on pau gasol for sale? thank you

Where will Pau Gasol go? Here's nine possibilitiesBy Chris Sheridan
ESPN.com


Pau Gasol wants out of Memphis, and Grizzlies president Jerry West is probably going to trade him to keep everyone happy.

But there's no guarantee a deal will happen before the Feb. 22 trade deadline, because this is not the same type of situation that Allen Iverson went through leaving Philadelphia, or Ron Artest did in leaving Indiana. West can keep Gasol and try trading him again over the summer, and if Pau doesn't like it, too bad.

"There's no fire sale here," West insists.

But since a Gasol trade seems inevitable -- eventually -- let's look at some of the possibilities.





CHICAGO BULLS

The Bulls are currently puttering along at five games over .500 and sitting fifth in the weak Eastern Conference, needing a capable low-post scorer like humans need oxygen.

What's more, they're one of very few teams that can offer the three items that are believed to be exactly what West wants: a likely lottery pick; disposable good, young players; and financial relief.

Because Gasol makes $12.364 million this season (plus four more years at $13.7, $15.1, $16.4 and $17.8), the Bulls (or any other team over the salary cap) would have to send Memphis a minimum of nearly $10 million in salaries to comply with the 125 percent rule.

Bulls VP John Paxson could get most of the way to the threshold by starting the trade with P.J. Brown, whose $8 million salary comes off the books after this season. After that, it's merely a matter of finding a player or combination of players making between $1.98 million and $7.55 million.

West is believed to have varying degrees of interest in four of the Bulls' best young established players -- Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, Andres Nocioni and Ben Gordon -- and it's safe to assume West would probably want two of them. That would be especially true if he couldn't get Paxson to part with the other valuable commodity he holds -- the Knicks' first-round pick in the Greg Oden-Kevin Durant draft.

(Paxson acquired the right to swap 2007 first-round picks with New York in the Eddy Curry trade, along with two other not-to-be-overlooked pieces that could be the throw-ins to get a Gasol deal done: New York's second-round picks in 2007 and 2009.)

Paxson, however, has no interest in lumping together too many of his assets to overpay for Gasol, especially with the long-term cap planning complications it would cause. After all, Paxson has to look ahead to the summer, when he's due to negotiate extensions with Gordon and Deng while also trying to satisfy Nocioni, a restricted free agent.

While the Bulls are the natural front-runners for Gasol, there are 28 other teams out there who might be interested in trading for a young, 7-foot All-Star as well.

If one of them lumped enough assets together to meet West's price, it could give West the leverage to force Paxson's hand -- or to make him decide that the price is just too high.

There are dozens of combinations that could work for Memphis and Chicago, and there is no telling what the final middle ground will be. But Brown, Gordon and the Knicks' pick for Gasol might be a trade both teams can live with.

So, all in all, what are the chances the Bulls get a deal done, on a scale from 1 (least likely) to 5 (most likely)?

Trade Machine: Gasol for Brown, Gordon and Knicks' pick

Probability factor: 4



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NEW JERSEY NETS

Nets president Rod Thorn has been rattling the trees trying to establish what kind of value there is out there for Jason Kidd and Vince Carter. That's about all he can do now that his two young starters (and trade assets) Richard Jefferson and Nenad Krstic are recovering from ankle and knee surgery, respectively.

Carter might interest the Grizzlies since he's expected to opt out of his contract this summer, which would take an additional $16.3 million off Memphis' payroll this summer (Eddie Jones' $15.7 million salary also comes off the cap).

An offer of Carter, Marcus Williams and the Nets' No. 1 pick for Gasol and Chucky Atkins might be alluring to both teams.

Trade Machine: Gasol and Atkins for Carter, Williams and a pick

Probability factor: 2



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LOS ANGELES LAKERS

You seldom see a team part with two bigs in a trade, but you could imagine Kwame Brown and Andrew Bynum being expendable in exchange for Gasol.

It wasn't so long ago, remember, when we saw what Phil Jackson could do when he had a dominant post player to pair with Kobe Bryant.

So, Brown, Bynum, Jordan Farmar, Aaron McKie and a No. 1 for Gasol and Atkins, anybody?

Trade Machine: Gasol and Atkins for Brown, Bynum, Farmar and McKie

Probability factor: 2



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BOSTON CELTICS

The Grizzlies already know the Celtics are interested, so now it's a question of whether West wants what Celtics exec Danny Ainge can offer.

You can assume West would begin his wish list with Al Jefferson and Delonte West, but their salaries don't add up to anything close to the $10 million requisite, so the Celtics would have to add in Theo Ratliff, too, and he is still due to make $11.67 million in '07-'08.

In other words, Memphis could probably do better elsewhere.

Trade Machine: Gasol for Jefferson, West and Ratliff

Probability factor: 2




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ORLANDO MAGIC

The Magic might lose Darko Milicic as a free agent next summer. For that reason, it would make sense for Orlando to explore the idea of Milicic, Travis Diener (a shooter to replace Mike Miller after he's traded, too) and Carlos Arroyo (a new point guard, which West craves) for Gasol.

The Magic could not give Memphis an '07 first-round pick, however, since they traded it to Detroit in the Darko deal. But Orlando is looking to move the rights to '05 first-round pick Fran Vazquez.

Trade Machine: Gasol for Milicic, Diener and Arroyo

Probability factor: 2



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INDIANA PACERS

Just for argument's sake, let's assume the exile of Al Harrington and Stephen Jackson to Golden State was just the first move in a massive breakup, and that Jermaine O'Neal and Jamaal Tinsley will be the next to go.

Well, if you packaged them for Gasol, Mike Miller and Chucky Atkins, you'd be one of the very few teams that could give Jerry West both an All-Star and a starting point guard.

Trade Machine: Gasol, Miller and Atkins for O'Neal and Tinsley

Probability factor: 1



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TORONTO RAPTORS

The Raptors would be the toast of Barcelona and Milan if they could get Gasol together on the same team with Jose Calderon, Jorge Garbajosa and Andrea Bargnani, but they'd have to surrender Chris Bosh to get Gasol, and they're not surrendering Chris Bosh.

Trade Machine: One possible scenario

Probability factor: 1



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CHARLOTTE BOBCATS

West is a big fan of Emeka Okafor, but the cheapskate Bobcats would never swap him for a player making nearly three times as much money.

The Bobcats also aren't likely to part with their two No. 1 picks -- their own and Toronto's (protected 1-15 in '07, 1-14 in '08 and unprotected in '09).

They also ask for $3 million in cash in nearly every trade discussion they have, and Michael Heisley isn't paying anyone if he gives them Gasol.

Trade Machine: Gasol for Okafor

Probability factor: 1



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PHOENIX SUNS

Yes, we know it would be crazy to mess with the Suns now that their winning streak is up to 14 games following their beat-down of the Wizards in Washington on Tuesday night.

But we also know that Suns owner Robert Sarver has given serious thought in the past to trading Shawn Marion, and he has to at least consider whether Gasol could be the final piece to get Phoenix its first title, which would make Sarver a hero in Phoenix, which is what he ultimately wants.

The Suns also have three first-round picks (their own, Cleveland's and Atlanta's -- though it's top-3 protected) to entice Memphis.

Would Jerry West do a deal of Marion, Marcus Banks and the first-round pick of the Cavs or the Suns for Gasol and Chucky Atkins?

A better question: Would the Suns?

Trade Machine: Gasol and Atkins for Marion, Banks and pick

Probability factor: 1


Chris Sheridan covers the NBA for ESPN Insider. To e-mail Chris, click here.

[SoCal Lakeshow]

Thanks for posting :tu

[trueD]

Thanks for posting :tu
I sense excitement in your thumbs-up emoticon.

Good luck trading half your team away for Gasol. I think Kupcake should definitely pull the trigger on that one.

[SoCal Lakeshow]

I sense excitement in your thumbs-up emoticon.

Good luck trading half your team away for Gasol. I think Kupcake should definitely pull the trigger on that one.
You havn't heard? The trade is for Kidd.




And BTW Bynum is untouchable.

The thumbs-up is for posting an insider article.

[Xylus]

I like the idea of having Gasol and Atkins, but Marion should be untouchable.

Shawn Marion should be a Sun until he retires.