Despite the rumors flowing in-and-out of the trade mill, the Chicago Bulls will unlikely trade Jimmy Butler this summer and have told teams they’re keeping him, according to CSN New England.
The Boston Celtics offered an underwhelming deal for Jimmy Butler during the trade deadline last season. A combination between top draft picks and reserve players had the Bulls looking the other way. However, if Boston comes back with a more enticing deal, the Bulls front office will do their job by listening to the offer, but remain unlikely to pull any trigger. History tells us a lot, and building through free agency is this current front office’s main way of improving a team, not trading away max level players.
The Chicago Tribune rarely disputes rumors when it comes to trade talks, but KC Johnson of the Tribune confirms that Butler is unlikely to be traded as well. The Bulls main focus outside of free agency will be to improve through the draft this summer. Whether that’s moving up in the draft to find a long-term solution at the point guard position to replace Derrick Rose, or select a point guard at the mid-level first round pick as a solid reserve player. That should be the headline going into the summer, not distracting ones debating if Butler will remain a Bull.
