Report: Bulls will 'make a hard push' to re-sign Pau Gasol

By foxsports
Published

A report made the rounds this week that said Pau Gasol will very likely opt out of the final year of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, but that's really been virtually guaranteed since the end of last season.

Once Gasol regained his All-Star form, there was no chance he'd play for less than $8 million next season, especially when considering the fact that the salary cap is going to spike thanks to the league's new broadcast rights deal kicking in, and every team around the league is going to have plenty of money to spend.

That includes the Bulls, who (according to a report from Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago) have no intention of letting Gasol walk, at least at this early stage.

This is the right thing to say, but the way this season plays out will have an impact on whether or not Chicago truly steps up with the kind of pricey offer that Gasol will undoubtedly receive from plenty of others.

It appears both Gasol and Joakim Noah will be free agents this summer, leaving the Bulls with some choices in the frontline as they’ll try to fit the best pieces around Fred Hoiberg’s offensive system. No one from the Bulls seem to have given the indication they would merely let Gasol and his production walk out of the door without a fight and a source with the front office tells CSNChicago.com they'll make a hard push to retain his services.