Boston Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls: Game Outlook

The Trade (That Wasn’t)

On draft day, the league was on fire with rumors about what the 76ers and Lakers were going to do with the top two picks. But the interest in a potential trade between Chicago and Boston or the Bulls and Timberwolves was the looming transaction that everyone was waiting for right up to the moment when the Wolves selection came and went and nothing happened.

There was the portion of the rumors that centered around a Kris Dunn-for-Jimmy Butler trade for Minnesota and Chicago, but the real talk was about the Celtics and Bulls. With multiple picks, Boston had all the pieces to work with in any trade scenario. Ultimately, nothing they had was enough to pry Butler free from Chicago.

Two things to watch for will be how Jimmy plays against the Celtics. Is he going to be sending a message to the team that wouldn’t cough up enough assets to secure a trade or does he use this game as motivation to open strong and let Bulls management know that he’s still one of the top wing players in the entire league?

The other side of this is rookie Jaylen Brown. We don’t know if Chicago was interested in Brown, but we do know that he was the player selected at No. 3, the pick that Boston was rumored to be dangling in a Butler trade offer. In his debut on Wednesday night against Brooklyn, Brown put up nine points, two rebounds, one assist, one steal and two blocks in 19 minutes.