Tossing out speculation about the possibility of Pau Gasol heading to the Chicago Bulls in a trade is Bulls.com's Sam Smith's stock-in-trade . The longtime Chicago Tribune scribe and soon-to-be Basketball Hall of Famer has long taken great delight in putting together potential deals based on good-faith scenarios ("Player X really likes Team Y, and wouldn't mind being dealt there"), even if those scenarios aren't exactly cap legal — like the times he hypothetically "trades" restricted free agents in draft day deals, or struggled with Base-Year Compensation players a few years ago. Pointing out potential Pau deals is classic Sam , because the trade would seemingly upgrade Chicago while adding a big name, while not offering many specifics or actual quotes from sources that a deal is being discussed. He's not wrong, at no point during any of this does Sam act as if a deal is imminent or being batted around by either team, but it's alluring enough to bring back the readers every time. Would such a deal help Chicago? Of course, because Gasol's all-around gifts would fit in with any team that dared use him the correct way. Would it help Los Angeles? Depends on the return, though we're secure in pointing out that the team badly needs to deal Gasol. But what of the potential parts? And what of the payroll implications for Chicago and Los Angeles, two of the most profitable teams in the NBA that have gone either to great lengths to avoid paying the luxury tax they well can afford (Chicago), or dumping staff and players for pure bottom line relief even in the wake of signing a massive TV contract (Los Angeles)?

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