Chicago Bulls: Despite reports to contrary, will Jimmy Butler move?
Despite reports to the contrary, the Chicago Bulls are reportedly still in trade talks concerning Jimmy Butler. Will they move him before the deadline, or wait until the offseason?
.Welcome to the newest addition to the Chicago Bulls‘ circus — the “Will they or won’t they trade Jimmy Butler” show. Reports blew up all over the NBA claiming that Butler and several teams felt that the Bulls would keep him. Alas, GarPax keeps them off-balance.
Now comes word that the Bulls are still in conversations with several teams concerning Butler. It appears, however, that the Bulls moved on to the Los Angeles Lakers.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, the Lakers tried to trade for DeMarcus Cousins, but the Sacramento Kings decided to send him to New Orleans after Los Angeles balked at including Brandon Ingram.
Kings wanted Brandon Ingram in a trade package for Cousins, but Lakers refused to include him, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 20, 2017
With Cousins out of the picture, it appears that the Lakers set their sights on Butler. Mike Adamle of NBC Chicago tweeted that the Lakers and Bulls are indeed in conversations.
Apparently, the Bulls have no problem with not having Ingram. They may want D’Angelo Russell, but the Lakers won’t let him go either. Adamle said that the New Jersey Nets and the Celtics were involved in talks, but that the Nets did not have assets and ultimately dropped out. That left the Lakers and Celtics, longtime rivals.
I still feel the Bulls want to trade Butler to the Celtics. They have more assets to deal with than the Lakers. They have some good young players and draft picks. Those draft picks are something the Bulls desperately need so they can rebuild. I think these Lakers talks may be a matter of causing a bidding war. Pitting two teams who make up one of the biggest rivalries in sports is a good way of doing that.
Of course, with a player of Butler’s caliber, the Bulls could afford to wait for the best possible deal. If they don’t get an offer that blows them away, they can wait until they do. At any rate, perhaps GarPax enjoys the circus around the Berto Center.
Next: Butler not getting traded after all?
We have to resign ourselves to the fact that Jinny Butler will eventually leave the Chicago Bulls. The front office is working hard to make it before the trade deadline. Even if it fails to happen before Thursday’s trade deadline, expect something to happen after the season, perhaps before the draft.