The National Basketball Association trade rumor mill keeps on swirling and it seems like there will be a trade that would change the landscape in the Eastern Conference with Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls potentially being traded to the Boston Celtics as the Feb. 23 trade deadline draws closer.
Among the 30 NBA teams, the Boston Celtics are the organization with the most to offer, having acquired first and second round draft picks through the years. That is why it is not unusual why big names in the NBA are reportedly being traded to Beantown and Butler is currently at the top of the list, NESN.com reported.
Boston has a lot to offer for Chicago to make the Butler deal. The Celtics have back-to-back top five picks acquired from the Brooklyn Nets for the 2017 and 2018 drafts, expiring contracts in Jonas Jerebko and Amir Johnson and players who have a lot of potential in Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown.
Though the Celtics are included in almost every trade rumor that involves a superstar, they still not have done a trade and Butler maybe the reason why, SB Nation's Celtics Blog reported. If the trade comes through, they would have not just two best players in the East but also two of the best fourth quarter players in Butler and Thomas.
Despite the Celtics overtaking the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference standings at second place, they still need to some reinforcement if they ever want to represent the East in the finals. Boston barely dispatched Toronto, which played without DeMar DeRozan, on Wednesday, 109-104. Assuming that the Celtics advance in the conference finals, they will need someone like Butler to help them beat either the Raptor or the Cleveland Cavaliers.
According to reports, Smart, Jae Crowder and first round picks might be the cost for the All-Star guard but if the Celtics are looking to win it all this season, it might be worth the risk.