The Boston Celtics really wanted to get Jimmy Butler but the Chicago Bulls won't budge.
They came very close, and the trade package progressed so much perhaps the Bulls may even regret their refusal.
According to KC Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Celtics kept changing the offer but the Bulls still refused.
"The Bulls held advanced discussions with the Celtics centered on Butler and the No. 3 pick, with whom they would've selected Providence guard Kris Dunn, league sources said. Several proposals were exchanged, including one with Jae Crowder and the Celtics' No. 3 and No. 16 picks, league sources said," Johnson reported.
The addition of Crowder was quite a significant turn since the Celtics consider him as their best player on the current roster. The Chicago Bulls could benefit from Crowder's defense at the small forward position and they could have their point guard to replace Derrick Rose with Kris Dunn.
The Bulls continue to say that they "value" Butler but refused to declare him "untouchable."
"We appreciate Jimmy," (Bulls GM Gar) Forman said. "We value Jimmy. It's our job to listen about any player on our roster when there's interest. And obviously we call teams and express interest in players that they have."
According to renowned sportswriter Bill Simmons in his podcast, Chicago was asking the Celtics for the rights to swap first round picks with the Brooklyn Nets' in 2017. Simmons said this is unacceptable because the 2017 Draft is deeper than this year's and there are three potential franchise players who they could pick.
In an early draft assessment from Chad Ford of ESPN Insider, the top three players are Josh Jackson of Kansas, Harry Giles of Duke and Markelle Fultz of Washington. Ford also mentioned that if the 2016 and 2017 classes were drafted together, only Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram would be included in the top 10.
This is probably the motivation behind the Bulls' refusal. They would probably hold on to Butler until the Celtics cave and give them what they want. Barring a big free agent signing (of Kevin Durant proportions) the Brooklyn Nets may be lottery bound again.
The Celtics want to compete now and the Bulls are (surprisingly) probably willing to be more patient with their rebuild. That stance will give Chicago more leverage.