NBA Trade Rumors: Could Jimmy Butler’s Days With Chicago Bulls Be Numbered?
The Chicago Bulls weren’t expected to win an NBA championship entering the 2016-17 season, but they were still expected to compete in the East. Fast forward to now and Chicago stands at 18-18, good enough for the No. 8 spot in the East standings, and Jimmy Butler’s days with the Bulls could be numbered.
According to Bleacher Report, Butler is not on the untradeable list.
A 52-point game may not be enough to keep this star guard in Chicago for long, sources tell @RicBucher https://t.co/QPdau6O38K pic.twitter.com/qv4hRYYDiI
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 5, 2017
This might come as a surprise to some. After all, Butler has really exploded onto the NBA scene this season. Here’s the proof. Butler is averaging 25.2 points per game, which is the 10th-best mark in the league.
Impressive stats aside, Butler was semi-recently signed to a five-year deal that had dollar signs written all over it. That kind of contract usually means a player is sticking around, not getting dealt well before it ends.
Nonetheless, the Chicago franchise is all about winning NBA championships, and fans have former players like Michael Jordan to thank for that one.
If the Bulls do, in fact, trade Butler, they will be clearly hitting the reset button. There were quite a bit of shake-ups with the roster this past summer (former MVP Derrick Rose was shipped to New York and Dwyane Wade was brought over from South Beach, just to rattle off two examples), but this would be the ultimate shake-up for Chicago. Butler is the best player on the team. Not to mention, he is only 27-years-old, meaning he is still in his prime.
If the Bulls decide to make some phone calls, then there will be plenty of offers for the man who is averaging 25-plus points per game (his previous high in the scoring department, which came last season, was 20.9 points per game).
It remains a mystery why the Bulls would be questioning a rebuild around Butler. Two-way players, especially ones who are scoring machines like Butler, are very hard to find. When you land one, which Chicago did, you hold on and never let go.
Rajon Rondo has been in quite a bit of trade rumors as well, and that will likely remain the case until either the trade deadline passes or Rondo is dealt.
Here’s what CBS Boston had to say about the latest Jimmy Butler rumor.
“Butler would be a fantastic fit on the Celtics and a great building block, but the big crux of the equation is Chicago’s asking price. The C’s and Bulls were reportedly chatting about a Butler deal on draft night in June, with Chicago’s asking price the third and 16th overall picks along with Jae Crowder and an additional starter-level player, according to The Chicago Tribune.”
As is the case with most NBA trade rumors, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the star player (in this case Butler) stayed with his current team (Chicago). With that in mind, the rumors will surely be running wild now until the trade deadline comes to an end.
Chicago might be in the playoff race at the moment, but not many people are giving this team a chance to make the NBA Finals. Heck, that’s the case for every team in the East that’s not named the Cleveland Cavaliers. For all it’s worth, the Bulls just took down the Cavs in their last contest by the score of 106-94.
The NBA is a fun league in the sense that anyone can get traded (or switch teams) at any given time — well, for the most part, that is, because LeBron James isn’t getting traded in this lifetime. Look no further than Kevin Durant leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the Golden State Warriors this past summer to figure that one out.
It remains to be seen what the Bulls will do with Butler. Here’s one thing we do know: Jimmy Butler is a star, and any team would be lucky to have him.
[Featured Image by Michael Reaves/Getty Images]
