CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: Gasol Mania

January 24, 2007

Since Gasol has publicly asked for a trade, there is a lot of buzz around the NBA about it. I figured I would offer a few random thoughts about what is going around. The Bulls have offered a package that includes guard Ben Gordon, forward P.J. Brown and a first round draft pick in return for Gasol. Chris Sheridan says that this offer has a 4 out of 5 probablility.

We know that Danny had made an offer previously but we don't know who he offered. And has the player or players offered previously distinguished themselves to become a part of the core group since then? Chris Sheridan has this to say about the 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.

He gives this trade a 2 on the probability scale. Personally, I don't see Danny moving Jefferson. I see him offering Gomes or even Green before he would Jefferson. I think Al is one of the few untouchables on the team now that he is finally breaking out.

Sheridan sees 9 teams who might make offers for Gasol and the Bulls offer is the only one that rates over a 2 on the probability scale in his view. PJ Brown, Gordon, and a first round pick doesn't seem to be that much better of a deal than what we could offer them. Right now, our pick is going to be higher than the Knicks or the Bulls picks. Gomes or Green with West is better than Gordon. And PJ Brown and Ratliff are a wash. So I don't see how he rates the Bulls offer so highly. I would rather get Gasol than to gamble on trying to get Oden. One is a proven commodity and the other is still potential. Besides, there is no guarantee that we would get the top pick and we would have to really tank to get one of the top 3 picks because I see improvement game by game in our young team and they are going to start winning.

But,as it was with Iverson, Danny may not offer enough to get their attention. He may just not offer enough. We do have a benefit in that we aren't in the same conference as Gasol. Teams don't like to trade within their conference. We also have those articles in the Spanish papers where Gasol's dad was saying how Gasol wants to be a Celtic and one even hinted that a trade for him was in the works. Seems like where there is smoke there must be some fire. Although it seems that most writers feel that the Bulls may have the inside track, we certainly can offer a better package than Gordon, Brown and a first round pick.

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