Could Minnesota outbid Boston for Jimmy Butler?
With newly-hired Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau looking to reunite with his former pupil during his tenure with the Chicago Bulls, Jimmy Butler, reports have surfaced that the Timberwolves have displayed interest in trading the fifth pick in the upcoming draft for the two-time All-Star shooting guard.
However, as we are all aware, Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge has made it clear of his desire to shop his team’s lottery selection as well, the third pick, looking to acquire the likes of a franchise-altering player such as Butler in a swap with the Bulls.
Following a disappointing, injury-riddled 2015-16 season in which the Bulls fell short of the postseason combined with the fact that front court leaders Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah are expected to bolt from Chicago in free agency, the Bulls could be looking to rebuild moving forward. In turn, making Butler expendable for the correct amount of value.
General manager Gar Forman has insinuated that he would be examining all potential options for the franchise moving forward in the case of Butler, who is entering the second season of a five-year, $90 million deal with the Bulls.
Should Chicago deal Butler this month, they would save $2.6 million on a trade kicker, which implies that the team would likely only trade the NBA’s 2014-15 Most Improved Player around draft night barring the discovery of an offer that is too enticing to resist during the summer months.
The Bulls have made their interest in selecting Providence point guard Kris Dunn evident should they wiggle their way into the top five.With the third pick, the Celtics are in the ideal position to grab the 22-year-old despite his prior statement that he would like to avoid being selected by Boston due to the team’s extensive guard depth.
However, Dunn, ranked fourth on ESPN’s Chad Ford’s Big Board declined the opportunity to work out with the Phoenix Suns, the owners of the draft’s fourth pick, as well. This will likely make him available to the Timberwolves with the fifth selection.
Thus, if Chicago does decide to deal Butler for a package centered around a top-five pick that they would in turn expend to select Dunn, who would offer the more lucrative package, Boston or Minnesota?
The advantage the Celtics have in this regard is their wealth of future first-round selections. They have the option of bunching together the number 3 and the number 16/23 selection in the 2016 draft. They could also combine either the 16th or the 23rd pick in this seasons draft with one of their future first-rounders or the Brooklyn Nets‘ 2017 or 2018 first-round selections.
With a combination of two of these draft picks, Boston would likely add 2016 All-Defensive First-Teamer Avery Bradley and his attractive contract (two years, $17 million) in addition to 2015 first-round combo-guard Terry Rozier, who displayed excellent defensive intensity and a superb shooting touch in scattered minutes during the 2016 playoffs.
However, the Timberwolves have plenty of aspiring All-Stars on their squad as well, most of whom would be expendable in a trade for Butler.
While 2015-16 Rookie of the Year Karl-Anthony Towns would likely be off-limits, the team could offer up 2014 first-overall pick Andrew Wiggins, who led the Timberwolves with 20.7 points per game last season. Also, they could offer two of the following three intriguing options: Ricky Rubio, Zach LaVine, or Gorgui Dieng.
Next: Boston Celtics Mock Draft 4.0
With the lack of depth that this year’s draft is perceived to hold, Forman might be more enticed by grabbing the 2014-15 Rookie of the Year rather than the number 16 overall pick and the likes of Bradley and Rozier.