Jimmy Butler (Photo : REUTERS)
The NBA trade rumors heat up for the teams that will miss the playoffs and need a desperate change of direction.
The Chicago Bulls is a team with a lot of pride but they have to face the reality that their once mighty core group has reached its crescendo and nothing would be more indicative that a team has lost its luster than its own fans clamoring for a rebuild.
In an article by Bulls fan site Pippen Ain't Easy, it was proposed that Jimmy Butler be traded to the LA Lakers. It sounds hard to accept but the Bulls fans themselves would be fine to see their anointed superstar swapped.
Butler was a rising star who was at the bottom of the first round in that peculiar 2011 Draft where the non-lottery picks outshone the players at the top. His emergence was a source of pride for the team as he embodied both talent and toughness. It is also safe to assume that former coach Tom Thibodeau played a big part in making him the player that he is.
The Bulls have invested in Butler and no one questioned the wisdom of that move. However, when they replaced Thibs with Fred Hoiberg, the issues quickly unraveled. Hoiberg wanted a faster offensive pace-a polar opposite to everything Thibs strongly implemented in his era. The players struggled to make the adjustment-which was more of a 180 degree turnaround.
It was not all about playing styles. Butler wanted to take the reins of leadership and his teammates did not seem to buy it. Despite his injuries, Derrick Rose was somehow still the face of the team and there was always a certain uneasiness between the two.
As the Bulls want to ride it out with Hoiberg, they need to have a roster overhaul and the best way to kickstart the process is to trade Butler as he can get the best returns.
The Lakers have youth and despite their dismal record, talent. As proposed by PAE, Jimmy Butler and Cameron Bairstow should be traded for D'Angelo Russell and the 2016 first-round pick (assuming the Lakers will make the top 3 and keep it).
The Lakers were just one of five teams cited by this Fox Sports article and while they concede that the Boston Celtics can put together a bigger package, they do not have a package of youth and upside talent like D'Angelo Russell, a 2nd overall pick, and the Lakers pick has a bigger chance to place higher than the Brooklyn Nets' pick that the Celtics are dangling. Their actual values could change after the lottery, though.
Jimmy Butler will now have his own team where he is the clear alpha dog-a team that also pursued him in free agency. The only exception is if the Lakers somehow land Kevin Durant, but it's a safe bet that Butler would not mind playing with him as it instantly makes them a playoff team.
