Remember the trade deadline in February, when Danny Ainge said he “came close” to making a trade but didn’t? And remember that so many Celtics fans were relieved because we wanted to keep budding star Jae Crowder?
That may have been a rare case when Danny and the fans were thinking alike. That’s if a report out of Chicago today is accurate:
Of the eight playoff teams, each of them have at least three impact players in their prime or at least giving “prime” production. These Bulls have just one, essentially in Jimmy Butler. […]
Yes, the Bulls did inquire to a couple teams at the trade deadline about Butler and Rose, along with Pau Gasol, league sources tell CSNChicago.com. They had preliminary discussions with the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics, but when the Celtics wouldn’t put promising forward Jae Crowder in their package of picks and players, there was no realistic possibility of a trade.
Surely the discussion was not a one-for-one deal, Crowder for the All-Star Butler. The Bulls would’ve been asking for much more than that. But if a trade had been completed, Butler would’ve replaced Crowder at small forward in the Boston lineup. The question then is, does Ainge value Jae more than Jimmy? Or was the package Chicago wanted just too rich to begin with? We may never know.
What we do know is that, with Chicago missing the playoffs, speculation will continue about trading Butler and perhaps Derrick Rose, to reboot the Bulls’ roster. The Cs may thus still have a shot at Butler in the off-season, especially once the position of the Nets draft pick is known. A No. 1 choice would be a powerful asset in trade talks for any available star.
By the way, the Draft Lottery is scheduled for May 17.
Related: MassLive – Boston Celtics trade rumors 2016: Team wouldn’t put Jae Crowder in Jimmy Butler talks
