Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
With most of the writers taking a day off to breathe before we launch into the July 1 free agency, we’re taking this morning in a different direction, sharing a Locked On Sports podcast network collaboration between us and the Locked on Bulls podcast host Sean Highkin. Jay King and Sean get together for about half an hour to break down the Jimmy Butler rumors and what was real vs. what was not.
Spoiler alert: A lot of it was never real. But I’ll let these guys explain it in Episode 41 of the Locked On Celtics Podcast with the Rainin’ J’s.
Some points made from the Chicago perspective:
- The Bulls were looking to go with Derrick Rose OR Jimmy Butler… and it was a shock to get value for Rose. So now that they did, there wasn’t much pressure to move on from Butler.
- If the Bulls really are looking to start over, then why are they looking to get starter-level players in return?
- The Bulls have Butler, who is 26, under a great contract for a few more years, so offers like Ricky Rubio and Kris Dunn and some future picks (as was the hot rumor after the pick was made) doesn’t move the needle.
- It’s REALLY interesting to hear how Jae Crowder is discussed from the Celtics and Bulls perspective.
As I said in yesterday’s podcast, the run-up to a trade often involves GM’s leaking stories to put pressure on their trade partners… and we all as fans have a tendency to take those rumors as gospel. We, in turn, start to have reactions like “I CAN’T BELIEVE DANNY TURNED THAT DEAL DOWN!” when that “deal” was never really an offer at all.
So my only words of caution are to be weary of putting too much stock in the specifics of the rumors. Who knows what players were actually involved in the discussions? Did Chicago ask for way too much? Did Danny low ball them? Who knows? What we do know is that the Celtics are trying to do something, but wanting to make a trade and actually making one are very different.
“We’ve been working really hard on trying to get a deal and do something significant, but we just haven’t been able to do it yet,” he said. “And it’s not because we’re not trying, it’s not because we’re turning down or we overvalue our players or any of that stuff. It’s because you need a partner. I’ve said this many times before: I tried three years to get KG before we got him. It just takes the right time and the right place and have a partner that wants to do a deal.”
And it’s hard to separate fiction from reality when it comes to the rumors… But Danny think you’d make the same decision he did.
“I think that it’s harder for fans. I think that I’m probably harder on myself than anybody else could be,” he said. “But I think it’s hard for fans because they don’t see and they don’t know what is real. There’s so much talk about it on TV shows and radio talk shows and so forth that they don’t see what’s really happening. I’m a firm believer that, if all of you were sitting in my office and listening to our conversations, there might be 5 or 10 percent disagreement if this deal is good or not, but 90 percent I’m pretty confident would say, ‘No, you can’t do that.’ ”
Unfortunately for Ainge, sharing the details of those talks would basically ensure he’ll never get a trade done in the future. He doesn’t need names of players leaked on either side to ruin any chemistry on his or other teams. We’ll just have to take him and Wyc at their words that these were never good deal for Boston.
We hope you enjoyed our breakdown from the Celtics and Bulls perspective.
The rest of the links:
Herald: Isaiah Thomas always knew Jaylen Brown would be ideal for Boston
