Jimmy Butler is on the block, but Boston reportedly refused to give up Jae Crowder for him


I know most fans are caught up in the playoff madness and it is a very fun scenario considering we were all expecting to still be on a rebuild a couple years ago. Even so, there was some very real news to talk about today.

According to Vincent Goodwill at CSN Chicago:

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.

And also this:


Some may say "Crowder for Butler? Do it now!!" The thing is we don't know what the whole trade package was, including those draft picks. Crowder and the Nets pick plus more, which seems like a very real offer, is too much as that Nets pick could be the No. 1 pick just as easily as No. 6 and Crowder has a real case for Most Improved Player becoming Boston's best two-way wing just coming into his prime despite being an after thought in the Rajon Rondo trade.

On the other hand, Butler is a damn good player on both ends of the court. He could be the face of this franchise, but let's not forget that he just led a team (injury riddled or not) that will miss the playoffs while Boston is the No. 5 seed without a Butler-type "superstar." Butler is also locked up until 2020 and at just 26 years old, he should demand a serious package.

So what should Danny Ainge offer? How about the Nets pick wherever it falls, another future Nets pick, Avery Bradley and any and all of Amir Johnson, Jonas Jerebko, Terry Rozier, RJ Hunter and whatever other draft picks Chicago could want, including all of the rest of Boston's picks this year? You want potential and instant impact? Hard to do much better than that.

Boston would then have a depth chart of Isaiah Thomas, Butler, Crowder, a re-signed Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk with Marcus Smart and possibly Evan Turner leading the bench. Good luck going against that team on offense or defense. Oh, and Boston would still have a ton of cap space to go out and snag guys like Kevin Durant and Al Horford.

It's all a pipe dream until a deal actually happens. The good news is regardless of what Boston does in the playoffs, the real fun happens this summer. All the draft picks, all the cap space, all the fun.

Photo: Hardwood Houdini

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