Jimmy Butler may be on his way out from Chicago, Celtics could be a destination

With the Chicago Bulls on a downward spiral this season, it looks more and more likely that they will start to rebuild their squad by starting to ship out some of their players. Most notably, Jimmy Butler looks like the most attractive piece Chicago has to offer and he may be on his way out. This should excite Celtics fans especially since we were one of the teams trying to snatch Butler away from the Bulls at the trade deadline. Via Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports:

Chemistry issues continue to plague the Bulls’ locker room, league sources told The Vertical. Grumblings range from Hoiberg’s inability to hold players accountable – a complaint registered publicly by Butler last December and one that lingers in the locker room today, a source said – to Butler’s shoddy shot selection to the disconnect within the team offensively.

Indeed, no one is untouchable. The palace intrigue that surrounded Butler and Hoiberg prompted several teams to inquire about Butler’s availability at the trade deadline. Though they were rebuffed, several rival executives told The Vertical they intend to try again. Boston was among the teams trying to pry away Butler in February, and several executives point to Orlando, with its treasure trove of young players and defensive-minded head coach, as a team to watch closely in the pursuit of Butler.

It's also interesting to note that Jimmy Butler was former teammates with our very own Jae Crowder while they were at Marquette. Additionally, they were and still are very close friends as well. Via Wesley Kaminsky of NBAPA.com:

Beyond his family, Crowder has found motivation through one of his closest friends, Bulls star Jimmy Butler, who was his teammate at Marquette during the 2010-11 season. Between both players attending junior college and being overlooked in the NBA draft—Crowder was the 34th pick in 2012 and Butler went 30th in 2011—they have very similar stories.

“Last time we broke bread and talked over dinner, he wanted to work out with me and vice versa because I know he’s going to push me to a limit, and we just want to make each other better,” Crowder said. “We want to start working out together in the summer time. We talk a lot and we go out to dinner when we play one another. That’s one of my best friends in the NBA. That’s my brother.”

“It’s a blue-collar mentality,” Crowder said of Marquette. “Me and Jimmy, we played in the Big East when it was really tough. It helped mold us and grew us to become everyday-type players. That’s the way our coach coached us when we were at Marquette. You don’t play unless you play hard and unless you play with a certain type of swag.”

Jimmy Butler also chimed in talking bout how close he is to Crowder:

“I think you always have a bond when you go to the same school and go to war with a guy like Jae under Buzz [Williams],” Butler told the NBPA. “He went to Juco just like I went to the Juco, so that just shows even more how much we have in common—overlooked in the draft, made our mark in this league and we’re here to stay. More than a basketball player, he’s an incredible human being, a great father and somebody that these kids can look up to because he’s the definition of what hard work and dedication can get you in this life.”

Both Crowder and Butler clearly have a tremendous amount of respect for one another and they seem to be very close. With the Bulls looking to possibly ship him out, the Celtics almost seem like a perfect fit for him. With one of his close friends in Crowder on the team, it only boosts the chances of a deal happening. We know Trader Danny was already looking to acquire him in February, but nothing came to fruition. Now with a stockpile of draft picks, young talented players, and a young star coach, the Celtics have all the attractive pieces to make a trade in order to bring Butler here. If that happens, the dominos could start falling much like they did in 2007 when we traded for Ray Allen, which led to KG.

For the Celts, it's imperative to go out and get a big name this summer, whether it's through free agency or trade. Getting a superstar caliber player is seemingly the only way you can win in the NBA today and for the Cs, Jimmy Butler is the perfect superstar player to put in a green jersey.

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