Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls puts up a shot past Spencer Hawes of the Charlotte Hornets on his way to a game-high 52 points at the United Center on January 2, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. The Bulls defeated the Hornets 118-111. (Photo : Getty Images/Jonathan Daniel)
The NBA trade rumors erupted with a bold claim that the Minnesota Timberwolves are open to trading Jimmy Butler.
Butler would be another top 20 player rumored to be available after the Hawks have admitted to be fielding offers for Paul Millsap.
The claim came from Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report and there were various reactions on that bombshell. One of them is a complete debunking from Sean Highkin of The Athletic, which covers Chicago sports teams.
"A Bulls source told The Athletic that, despite a Thursday report from Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report, the team is not currently shopping Butler or fielding offers for the two-time All-Star."
The key word there is "currently" and Highkin did mention that Butler is not really in the tier of LeBron James, Steph Curry or Kevin Durant as the true "untouchables" of the league. But from the Bulls side, the reported interest is not there yet.
It does not stop the rest of the NBA hoops world to continue their speculation. Bucher has missed on some of his bold claims but he did say he got the information from "backchannels." Perhaps other teams have given the claim, and one wonders if it's the Boston Celtics.
The Celtics are continuously hounded by trade rumors and most of them centered on acquiring a big man-a true center if Al Horford had his way. But that does not mean Danny Ainge will scoff at the chance to grab one of the best two-way players in the league right now.
A trade scenario where the Boston Celtics would trade Jaylen Brown, Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart and their 2017 draft pick (swap with the Brooklyn Nets) was proposed by Pippen Ain't Easy.
The Celtics side would be quick to yell "overpay" but the point of the proposal was to keep Jae Crowder in the Celtics fold along with Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford. Even without a strong center, having those four players could spell trouble for any team, specifically the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Ainge might have another proposal in mind for Butler but the key here is that someone wants to know how the Bulls would react to a Butler trade rumor. The Celtics would definitely be interested.
