Chicago Bulls: Kyrie Irving deal make Jimmy Butler trade look even worse

The Cleveland Cavaliers getting proper value in the Kyrie Irving trade makes the Chicago Bulls selling low on Jimmy Butler even worse than it already did.

As a rebuilding team, we probably won’t see any big moves from the Chicago Bulls anytime soon. That being said, an NBA blockbuster on Tuesday night got me thinking back to the Jimmy Butler trade.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics flipped the NBA world upside down on Tuesday night when they swapped superstar point guards. The Celtics acquired the disgruntled Kyrie Irving and in exchange, the Cavaliers brought in Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the 2018 Brooklyn Nets’ first-round pick.

Make no mistake about it, the Cavaliers got a nice return on Irving. He is a better long-term option than Thomas, but the 5-foot-8 point guard will mostly be able to replace Irving’s offensive production for Cleveland. Crowder is a talented wing on a cheap contract and Zizic is a young big man with some upside. On top of that, the 2018 pick from the Nets could easily end up being a top three selection in a talented class.

I understand Boston taking advantage of an opportunity to get a potential big-time superstar, but they undoubtedly gave up a lot more here. Specifically, a lot more than the Minnesota Timberwolves gave to the Chicago Bulls for Jimmy Butler.

Butler trade looks even worse

For Irving, the Cavaliers got a package of players who arguably make them a better team for 2017/18 and an extremely valuable long-term asset. For Butler, the Bulls got a mid-tier two-guard who is coming off of torn ACL, a point guard who was disastrous as a rookie last season and traded up nine spots to the seventh overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

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I applauded the Bulls for picking a direction and going all in on the rebuild. I still feel that way a bit, but make no mistake about it, they sold low on Jimmy Butler. Getting Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and Lauri Markkanen for Butler and the 16th pick is straight up awful when compared to what Cleveland was able to do.

Irving is younger than Butler (25 compared to 27) and a better overall offensive player. However, his defense is a major liability, while Butler is one of the best wing defenders in the NBA. Defense is a legitimate weakness for Irving, while Butler is elite on that end of the court. Irving is a fantastic shot maker on the offensive end, but Butler can certainly hold his own with the ball in his hands as well.

When it comes to value on the court, these are two extremely comparable players. Plus, they are both under contract until the 2020 offseason. The Chicago Bulls should be embarrassed with the return they got when compared to what Cleveland was able to bring in.

If the Bulls can tank this season away and start from scratch on the rebuild, they will be in a better spot than they were with Butler. They simply were not going anywhere with the team that they had constructed. However, it is simply baffling to me that the Cavs can get this kind of return on Irving when Butler was acquired for so little. As it turns out, the Bulls may have been better off waiting out the market in order to get proper value for their star player.

Next: Previewing Markkanen's rookie season

However, what’s done is done and the Chicago Bulls will now go forward with the future the only thing in mind.