Somehow, it looks like GarPax won the infamous Jimmy Butler trade

Draft night seems like an eternity ago, but a little under six months ago, GarPax navigated their way through very good trade.

In what’s been about six and a half months, but seems like an eternity, it’s becoming more and more apparent that the Chicago Bulls are vibrant winners of their blockbuster, draft night trade. This is the same trade that motivated the #FireGarPax sign and left fans feeling dreadful about their team’s future.

Remember that magically depressing night? The Bulls traded Jimmy Butler and the No. 16 overall pick (which became C Justin Patton) for the No. 7 overall pick (which became Lauri Markkanen), an injured Zach LaVine, and Kris Dunn, who looked lost in his rookie season.

Since then, the trade looks like a fairly good one for a Chicago front office that’s been panned over the last few seasons. While it’s clear that GarPax fumbled their draft night trade of Jordan Bell, they cooked up a something good in their deal with Minnesota.

That night was weird. No one felt particularly good about the trade as it happened. Myself included, there was a hope that Malik Monk or Dennis Smith Jr would head to Chicago.

Thus, emotions didn’t get better when The Ringer graded No. 7 overall pick Lauri Markkanen as a ‘F+’. Plus, certain a Pippen Ain’t Easy writer who’s since fallen for the 20-year-old scorer might’ve graded the pick as a ‘D+’.

Instead, the Bulls drafted their leading second-leading scorer and team-leading rebounder who looks more and more like one of the draft’s very best picks. Averaging 15.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in the first 40 games of his NBA career, Lauri Markkanen is simply stunning.

Meanwhile, Kris Dunn continues to blossom into a quality NBA point guard. After averaging 3.8 points, 2.4 assists, and 2.1 rebounds in his rookie season, the guard looks like a brand new player. Dunn is averaging 13.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game this season. Plus, he’s been capable of taking over games in certain spots.

Zach LaVine, however, will be more of a piece to monitor. Just one game removed from the recovery process of a torn ACL, LaVine looks like the potential-packed guard Minnesota valued so highly in his first three seasons.

Despite Minnesota’s 2017-2018 success, Chicago is in much better position moving forward

Some may see Jimmy Butler’s recent string of superb play with the Timberwolves and wish they still had the forward: that’s fair. Butler is averaging 21.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and is playing insane defense this season. Minnesota is 28-16, good enough for fourth in the west.

Despite the success, there’s an inevitable flaw to this year’s Timberwolves; they aren’t the Golden State Warriors. Minnesota won’t get past Golden State and that’s a guarantee; they’ve barely got a shot against Houston.

The fatal flaw of the Jimmy Butler is in the money. At some point, Minnesota will have to make a choice to pay a 29-year-old Butler what will likely be another max contract. If its another five years, that’ll pay the forward into his age-34 season.

Meanwhile, Minnesota still has to pay Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins a ton of money. This gives the Timberwolves limited funds to add another star anytime soon. No matter what, it seems that Minnesota will play in the shadow of Golden State in the west.

Justin Patton hasn’t even seen a minute of NBA action, so that’ll be worth monitoring. The 6-foot-11 center had offseason toe surgery, holding him out of action thus far.

It’s still an odd selection in many ways, as Karl-Anthony Towns, Gorgui Dieng, and Cole Aldrich hold rank over Patton on the depth chart.

Chicago’s situation is much more bright, especially considering their pieces of the trade finally in action together

Seeing the trio of Dunn, LaVine, and Markkanen in the starting line-up felt much less like an omen and more of a testament to future success. Against Detriot, the three combined for 51 of the Bulls’ 107 points.

LaVine was the last piece of the puzzle to fall in place, which was probably for the best. Initially, he was the only piece of the Jimmy Butler trade that left Bulls fans with positivity and excitement. His lone performance of 2018 went to that tune, positivity, and excitement.

There’s no way Gar Forman and John Paxson knew just how good their products could become; except it seems like they pulled off an excellent heist.

It’s hard to imagine Minnesota makes that trade today. I’d take the trio of LaVine, Dunn, and Markkanen over Butler and Patton any day; I think most people who consume basketball feel the same.

Next: Gauging Nikola Mirotic’s trade value for the Chicago Bulls

Magically, GarPax coordinated a trade that netted the Bulls three quality starters, and that’s at the very least. Dunn, Markkanen, and Lavine are a mouthwatering core, plus give the Bulls room to add. While LaVine is due for a max contract in the offseason, Dunn and Markkanen are still early in their rookie deals.

In an ideal world, Chicago would’ve held on to that No. 16 overall pick, but they should be very happy with their return. GarPax is far from a perfect regime, but they deserve credit for creating a promising core in just one trade.