Chicago Bulls: Jimmy Butler traded to Minnesota Timberwolves

The Chicago Bulls finally pulled the trigger on a Jimmy Butler deal. No, it wasn’t with Boston. They traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

After about two years of hearing the “Will they trade Jimmy Butler or won’t they” questions, the Chicago Bulls finally gave their answer — yes. They pulled a draft-night deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Bulls receive the T-Wolves’ seventh pick in tonight’s draft, Zach LaVine, and Kris Dunn. In addition to Butler, Minnesota receives the 16th pick.

Many speculated that a deal would be made with the Boston Celtics, who have a treasure trove of picks (seven first-round picks in the next three years). The two sides could not come to an agreement, so Minnesota swooped in and got it done.

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Butler now reunites with his first coach, Tom Thibodeau. The two men greatly respect each other. Thibodeau is a hard-nosed coach, one who demands much of his players. Butler is one of the hardest-working players in the NBA. He was a late first round pick for the Bulls and was relatively unknown. He worked hard under Thibodeau’s tutelage and worked his way to becoming one of the biggest stars in the NBA.

LaVine is a guard who can play point or shooting guard. In 2016, he averaged 18.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game. He was the 13th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. He helps the Bulls with shooting, averaging 44.5 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from beyond the arc in his career. Additionally, he improved in each of his seasons, so he puts in the work to improve.

Kris Dunn is a point guard. The Timberwolves took him with the 5th overall pick in last year’s draft and averaged 3.8 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game in his rookie season. In Minnesota, he didn’t get much playing time sitting behind Ricky Rubio. He averaged just 17.1 minutes per game.

The Bulls addressed their point guard situation. It was a sore point last season. In the playoffs, when Rajon Rondo played, they owned a 2-0 series lead against the Celtics. When he went down and missed the rest of the series, the Bulls got nearly nothing from their point guards and lost four straight and exited in the first round. Let’s see what else the night brings for the Chicago Bulls.

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With the trade, team vice president of basketball operations John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman throw away any notion that the team is in full-blown rebuild mode. No one can see anything but a rebuild happening in Chicago.

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