Chicago Bulls Trade Deadline: Jimmy Butler and the Boston Celtics

We’re in the final stretch before the trade deadline and teams around the league are going from a steady run into a full-on sprint to gear up for potential playoff push, but which teams will have the best kicker? The Chicago Bulls have pieces to offer, but the price must be right if they are to part with star wing Jimmy Butler.

The Boston Celtics are one of those teams that has a realistic chance to challenge the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference this year. It’s exciting because the Cavaliers haven’t had a true challenger in a while and it would be nice if there was at least some illusion to the Cavs eventual Finals appearance. Yet, most people (aka everyone who isn’t a Celtics fan) would point out that Boston is still one piece short of being that contender this year.

Worse yet, Danny Ainge, GM of the Celtics, missed out on DeMarcus Cousins and that leaves approximately one player that could push them into the conversation that seems to be available for the right price – Butler.

The big mystery is if Ainge is willing to go all in on his assets to acquire Butler, the player that could help them push Cleveland and try to topple the champs. Even bigger mystery – is Gar Forman willing to listen and make sure that he gets fair return? It’s impossible to say. There are huge upside and downside realities to this deal for both teams.

Bulls send Butler, picks to Boston for Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley, pick

Chicago sends Butler, their Kings pick – currently project for No. 11, though likely to become an early second-round pick – and their own first-round pick this summer – currently No. 17 – to the Celtics. In exchange, Boston sends Brown, Smart, Bradley and the Brooklyn Nets pick – currently projected to be No. 1 in the upcoming draft.

Bulls Side

This is a big win for Chicago. If they are determined to move on from Butler because his peak talent doesn’t align with a window in which they stand to be true competitors in the East, this is the time and this is the trade. This is far from the first time I’ve discussed this. I wrote about it in a list of Butler trade scenarios and also touched on it for the Fastbreak Breakfast podcast. They get a high-upside rookie in Brown, a solid starting two-guard in Bradley and a temporary fix at point with Smart. The pick allows them to get the player of their choosing. The additions of Bradley and Smart keep them from completely bottoming out and falling entirely out of contention beyond this year.

Celtics Side

This is also a win for Boston. They sacrifice a small amount of depth, but give away nothing pivotal to their immediate and short term success. The window they have with Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford is small and getting smaller. By the time the No. 1 pick of the 2017 draft comes into his own, whoever it may be, Horford and Thomas will no longer be contributors that can carry a squad and the Celtics still won’t have a title and likely won’t have a Finals appearance. Those odds increase significantly if they add Butler, grab the No. 1 seed in the East heading into the playoffs and have the luxury of alternating Jae Crowder and Butler on LeBron James, keeping both players fresh enough to push the physicality against the most dominant player in the Eastern Conference.

Verdict

It’s a win and a loss. The Celtics would be sacrificing a shot at a player who might turn into something down the road and a couple of assets to go with it. The subtraction of Smart doesn’t mean much, they have Thomas and Ainge seems to have to made Terry Rozier untouchable so that is your point guard pairing moving forward. Bradley could be replaced by none other than Butler himself. This trade doesn’t require, or even want, Crowder. He stays at the three, Butler plays the two alongside Thomas and Horford runs the frontcourt with Olynyk.

The Bulls have to swallow the pill of moving on from Butler, which is extremely tough for any franchise to do when it comes to their best players. Well, except for Vivek Ranadive and the Kings apparently. This move would help Chicago skip about three years of misery and give themselves an extremely solid foundation moving forward. By getting multiple high-ceiling prospects between Brown and the upcoming pick, they can begin moving forward with more than just one player who is highly skilled, which is the situation they currently find themselves in that has created all the trade rumors to begin with.

Another Option

I’m fully aware that Celtics fans regard Butler as maybe a sixth or seventh man at best and that he isn’t worth more than James Young in return, but that’s absurd. Everyone who doesn’t love the team in Boston can see that. However, I love to find compromise with even irrational and unfathomably biased fans. If we keep all of the pieces of the proposed trade intact, but added Jonas Jerebko to the players Chicago would receive, the Bulls could also package Taj Gibson with Butler. Now, I’m telling you that in a year where the Cavs seem vulnerable, two players that Chicago is rumored to be willing to part with could both be moved in a single trade for four pieces and a highly-prized draft pick, you’d have to admit I’ve done well.

The trade works. I definitely ran it through the trade machine. Chicago moves two players, gets future pieces and all of a sudden, the Celtics can go small ball with Horford and Gibson sharing the floor or they can have Gibson as a high-quality back up, specifically to help them combat the Cavs.

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The big ‘if’ remains to be a question of if two of the most frustrating GMs in the business (outside Vlade Divac), can get on the same page. Ainge always wants to win the deal and never sacrifice assets and Forman seems to have absolutely no idea what he wants to do with this Chicago squad or how to go about it. Whether this deal happens or not, we’ll know very soon as the trade deadline is mere hours away.

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