Gasol Trade? The New Trade of the Decade

We got him.

Everyone is reporting that the deal is done. Richard Jefferson (2008/2009 19.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 2.4 APG) will be a Spur while Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto, and Kurt Thomas will be new members of the Bucks. It's a clear cost cutting move from the Bucks perspective and it's hard to blame them. After all, it is Milwaukee. This move thins out the Spurs front court a bit. It's impossible to say what the Bucks will do at this point, though it looks as if Bruce will be cut. It's possible Oberto is also cut (making it possible for both of them to re-sign with the Spurs). With the draft still a couple days away and the FA signing period beginning in a week, we have to guess as to who the Spurs plan on being the big men next year. Let's look at the current situation.

Currently signed for next year:

Tim Duncan (don't think he's going anywhere)
Matt Bonner (could still be trade bait)
Ian Mahinmi (will have to show he can play in he big leagues before his money becomes guaranteed aka before he gets cut)

Free Agent from 2008/2009:

Drew Gooden - Has publicly stated he would love to play for the Spurs. But then again, any person looking for a contract would say that to possibly start a bidding "war". The more teams that are interested, the better. He showed last year that he could score better than any other big man not named Tim Duncan and that he could be a capable defender when needed. I can't see anyone offering him more than the MLE. The question is, will the Spurs be able to find someone better for the MLE?

There's also the draft (Thursday Night). The Spurs don't have the best track record when it comes to developing guys right out of the draft (George Hill played behind Mason at point remember). Plus as of now the Spurs only have second round picks. As I have so eloquently put before, second rounders usually suck worse than Kobe at lying. There have been musings that the Spurs are trying to move up in the draft. Though originally it was presumed that they would move up to get Casspi. It's hard to see that happening now that Jefferson is a Spur. While SF is still somewhat thin, C and PF are even thinner. And let's be real, they're not trading up to get Thabeet.

So what does this all mean? It means that the Spurs will be actively trying to get a decent big man for the MLE. It's also possible they go after less qualified big men and split up the MLE for more than one player. Oh and they now have one of the most jizztacular starting lineups in the league:

PG - Tony Parker (All-Star and Finals MVP)
SG - Roger Mason Jr. (Sniper, Clutch-City)
SF - Richard Jefferson (Highlight Reel, 20 PPG)
PF - Tim Duncan (He's Pretty Good)
C - Who Cares (let's hope for Mahinmi)

And a certain Manu Ginobili will be coming off the bench. I think I filled the cup.

Edit: Important to note that the MLE still counts toward the Luxury Tax. So instead of signing someone (or a couple guys) for $5+ million, it would double due to being over the luxury tax threshold. It's still possible they don't use all the MLE because of this.