With the NBA trade deadline two weeks away, the Jimmy Butler trade speculation is going to grow.
That is, unless Bulls management commits to Butler like Kings management did for DeMarcus Cousins and the Cavaliers did for Kevin Love.
“Nothing surprises me nowadays. Anything is possible,” Butler said Monday, via the Chicago Tribune. “It’s a business at the end of the day. I love it here. They know that. The city knows that.”
Last summer, ESPN’s Marc Stein reported that Minnesota and Boston tried to get Butler – and that they would continue trying. And a month ago, The Vertical reported that Wolves owner Glen Taylor “will do whatever it takes financially in order to win.”
What would it take for Minnesota?
Butler’s connection to Tom Thibodeau in Minnesota isn’t going away. But if the Wolves did want to reignite trade talks with Chicago, might they be more willing now than they were last summer to include Zach LaVine and/or Kris Dunn?
The Vertical reported in June that Minnesota-Chicago trade talks broke down after the Wolves refused to include LaVine and Dunn.
Chicago wanted Zach LaVine and the No. 5 pick, Kris Dunn, sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 24, 2016
LaVine is out the rest of the season with a torn ACL, while Dunn is still in a reserve role and hasn’t played the last three games because of a hand injury.
But maybe Chicago has changed its tune on Rubio? A report last month said the Bulls had strong interest in him, but it wasn’t specifically in relation to Butler.
Boston has a ton to offer
Boston, as NESN notes, has plenty of trade ammo, including two probable top five picks from the Nets in the next two drafts, along with attractive contracts and talent in Amir Johnson, Jonas Jerebko, Jae Crowder, Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier. Brooklyn is last in the NBA with only nine wins, meaning they’re the early favorites to land the No. 1 overall pick this June.
“The team that I continue to hear that has the pieces the Bulls want is Boston,” ESPN Chicago’s Nick Friedell explained on the Zach Lowe podcast, adding that if Chicago “got the right pieces back, I think they’d move Jimmy today.”
