Pau & Juan Carlos, Together At Last

As rumored the past week, Memphis swung a deal to land Spanish guard Juan Carlos Navarro, reportedly giving a lottery-protected 2008 first-round pick to Washington in the swap.

Not a bad deal for the Wizards, who used a second-round pick in 2002 to draft Pau Gasol's best friend. The Grizzlies, meanwhile, are backcourt gluttons. Mike Miller figures to become trade bait before long, as teams have come knocking for him often the past few years.

And I said yesterday, this is a blow for Chicago if they were at all thinking about making another run at Gasol this coming season. Memphis wouldn't go get this guy without thinking they're keeping Pau around a while. This move, as much basketball sense as it may make, was made to placate the angry Gasol. Unless hell freezes over Kobe Bryant forces a trade to Chicago, the Bulls have struck out on all the big names they were hoping for.