Chicago Bulls news: Cleveland Cavaliers trying to acquire Jimmy Butler
A report surfaced that the Cleveland Cavaliers are working with the Chicago Bulls and other teams to prepare a package to acquire Jimmy Butler.
Tell me if this sounds familiar — the Chicago Bulls, who say they aren’t actively shopping Jimmy Butler, have multiple teams discussing a trade for him.
The latest team to actively pursue Butler is the reigning Eastern Conference champions, the Cleveland Cavaliers. ESPN reported that the Cavs are engaging a third team to prepare a package attractive enough for the Bulls to pull the trigger on a deal.
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"Sources told ESPN that the Cavaliers, in addition to their reported interest in Indiana’s Paul George, are trying to assemble trade packages that would convince the Bulls to part with Butler, 27, who is fresh off the best season of his career.It’s believed that the Cavaliers, by offering All-Star forward Kevin Love, could recruit a third team that would supply the sort of young players and/or draft picks sure to be more appealing to Chicago than the limited trade assets on Cleveland’s roster."
The team mentioned in the report is the Phoenix Suns. The Suns have the 4th pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft, and they made point guard Eric Bledsoe available.
Until recently, the Boston Celtics were the odds-on favorites to finally convince the Bulls to part ways with Butler. They have seven first-round picks in the next three drafts, which help speed up a rebuilding program.
Butler is certainly an attractive player. He had the best season of his career in 2016. He averaged 23.9 points, 5.5 assists, and 6.2 rebounds per game. If he named to an All-NBA team next season, he’ll be eligible for the so-called “super-max” contract, playing him over $200 million. The Bulls, are still smarting from giving a similar contract to Derrick Rose. After signing the contract, Rose went on to miss 251 games over 5 seasons. They may balk at signing another one of those contracts.
Next: No better time to trade Jimmy Butler than now
Because of that, the Bulls’ phone keeps ringing with offers for Butler. Will they finally pull the trigger on a deal, or will Butler again be in a Chicago Bulls uniform in 2017?