Should the Celtics have topped the Timberwolves offer for Jimmy Butler?
Rumblings of Jimmy Butler being on the trade block have been rampant over the last two years, and finally a team was able to pry the swingman from the Bulls, but that team wasn't the Celtics, and it really didn't cost a lot.
The Minnesota Timberwolves reunited Butler with his old coach, Tom Thibodeau, for the price of the young Kris Dunn and Zach Lavine, and the teams swapped picks in Thursday night's draft.
Seems like a steal for the Wolves, who may jump into the playoff picture in the loaded Western Conference with this lineup, while Chicago struggled to secure the eight seed this past postseason with Butler.
With loads of picks, including the #3 on draft night, coupled with tons of young talent, Boston easily could've outbid Minnesota, but according to Jay King of MassLive, Danny Ainge and the Celtics front office weren't too invested in a trade:
One source with knowledge of the conversations between Boston and Chicago said the Celtics never mounted a serious run at prying Butler away. That meshes with the reporting of the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson, who first dug up that the Celtics never offered this year's third pick or next year's Nets pick.
Should they have?
In spite of the fact that the C's were the only Eastern Conference team to hand the Cleveland Cavaliers a loss in this year's playoffs, they're still a piece or more away from contending.
Butler, a three-time All Star, would be a huge improvement, especially coming off of one of his best seasons, with likely more room to grow before he hits his ceiling. With the Bulls finally willing to deal him, this was probably the best chance the Celtics had of snaring him from Chicago.
But, it seems like Ainge's sights are set higher... or at least that he wants to secure more than just one All-Star. Taking on Butler's salary before the start of free agency if there wasn't matching salary traded off would have made it harder to sign Gordon Hayward.
So should the Celtics have tried to outbid the Wolves? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Follow Topher Lane on Twitter, @Topher_L. Photo credit: Getty Images.