After nearly six months of off and on trade talks, the Chicago Bulls finally traded Jimmy Butler during Thursday night’s NBA Draft, flipping him to the Minnesota Timberwolves, per numerous reports. In exchange for Butler and the No. 16 overall pick, the Bulls received Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and the No. 7 pick (used to take Arizona’s Lauri Markkanen).
When the reported return for Butler came out, one of the first thoughts was that the Timberwolves’ offer seemed like something that the Celtics, long rumored to be in talks for Butler, could have easily matched or surpassed. There were rumors floating around early in the week about the Celtics turning down a straight up swap of Butler for the No. 3 overall pick, but that seemed a bit ridiculous.
However, on Thursday night, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reported that not only would the Celtics not put this year’s No. 3 pick on the table, but they wouldn’t offer their 2018 Nets pick under any circumstances for Butler.
In Bulls talks with Celtics regarding Butler, Celtics refused to offer No. 3 or next year's Nets pick, per source.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) June 23, 2017
The Bulls ended up getting a collection of young talent from the Timberwolves to kickstart their rebuilding process after the Celtics balked at the opportunity to flip a top pick for the All-NBA talent. The Celtics have reportedly re-ignited conversations with the Pacers about Paul George and have been speaking with the Knicks about Kristaps Porzingis, but it’s clear that Danny Ainge isn’t looking to sell the farm when it comes to his future assets just yet.
