The Bulls want in on Pau Gasol? (Getty Images)
What's more difficult: Acquiring an All-Star 7-footer at the NBA Trade Deadline or finding a taker for an underachiever set to make $60 million over the next 3+ seasons? The correct answer: both are exceedingly difficult.

The Chicago Bulls will reportedly attempt to do both, simultaneously.

ESPN.com reports that the Bulls are attempting to land Los Angeles Lakers All-Star big man Pau Gasol in a trade that would send forward Carlos Boozer, he of the terrible contract and below expectations performance, to a third team.
The Bulls have long hoped to wedge themselves into the trade running for Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard, but sources told ESPN.com that Howard's well-chronicled lack of interest in a trade to Chicago has prompted the Bulls to switch their focus to Gasol in advance of Thursday's 3 p.m. deadline.

Sources say that the Lakers, however, have limited interest in the players Chicago would be offering, starting with Bulls forward Carlos Boozer. So the Bulls would have to recruit at least one more team to the discussions to have any shot at Gasol, sources said, with the Lakers known to be insistent on getting back at least one certifiable star if they consent to the trade the Spaniard. Sources say that the Lakers, furthermore, continue to talk to other teams about Gasol in advance.
The Chicago Tribune also reports that the Bulls can't execute a direct swap of Boozer for Gasol because the Lakers "have no interest" in Boozer, making a 3-team trade scenario the only way they could land Gasol.

The degree of difficulty on executing this proposal is extremely high. Boozer's contract was bad when he signed it -- during the Summer 2010 free agency bonanza -- and it became so, so much worse thanks to the new collective bargaining agreement. He's set to make between $15 and $17 million for each of the next three seasons with no ability for the team to opt out. He's 30 now and already two years removed from his previous 20-points, 10-rebounds standard of production.

As argued recently, the Lakers would do well to move Gasol as soon as possible, prior to Thursday's Trade Deadline in a best case scenario, because of the major price tag he's owed through 2013-2014. Boozer represents the least logical swap: he's owed nearly the same amount of money per year, he's owed that money for a longer period of time, he's a worse player and he has no championship experience. The Lakers need flexibility and youth. Boozer is (getting) old and his contract is as flexible as a brick wall.

The Lakers aren't the only ones unlikely to have interest in Boozer. The real question is what team in their ring mind would want to commit roughly a quarter of their salary cap to him through 2014-2015. If you trade for him, you don't have the ability to amnesty him down the road, so you're also assuming all the risks that go with his recent injuries. In all likelihood, Boozer's stuck in Chicago for the foreseeable future.

Put it this way: Chicago's front office split Executive of the Year honors with the Miami Heat's Pat Riley last year. If the Bulls actually found a way to trade Boozer or trade for Pau Gasol -- let alone both -- they would be in line for that award in unanimous fashion this time around.