Jimmy Butler and DeMarcus Cousins (Photo : Getty Images)
The NBA trade rumors and scenarios continue and the Chicago Bulls appear to be on the cusp of a major rebuild.
The Bulls front office, represented by Gar Forman and John Paxson, have expressed willingness to take more aggressive moves this offseason to improve the team.
It has been a long held notion that only one of Derrick Rose or Jimmy Butler would be retained for the long haul. Butler has youth and health at his advantage and he is also under contract, but the intrigue within the team may have caught up with him.
ESPN's Nick Friedell who covers the Bulls spilled the beans on a podcast which was transcribed by Blog A Bull.
"Jimmy has rubbed people the wrong way," Friedell said. "He badly wants to be viewed as 'the guy'. As long as Derrick and Joakim are still here, Jimmy cannot be that."
He added: "But there was a lot of tension between Jimmy and Jo. Jo wanted to always wanted to be the big brother, take care of everybody else. It started in the back-half of last year, Jimmy seeing he was becoming the best player on the team and wanted others to respect his voice more than in the past. I think Jo [dismissed it, seeing Jimmy as still a role player]."
In conclusion: "I don't think you can see a situation where Jo and Jimmy return. I would be shocked if all three of Jo, Jimmy and Derrick are at training camp."
While these were recent revelations, it just confirmed what the tension that most observers speculated. A team as talented as the Bulls would not just implode the way they did, and that's also another reason why Fred Hoiberg is not in the hot seat.
Hence, the trade scenarios for Jimmy Butler have emerged. Another Bulls site, Pippen Ain't Easy had this trade scenario where Butler is sent to the Sacramento Kings. But before this is dismissed as old rumors, it's not for DeMarcus Cousins.
Cousins is still unlikely to be traded and the word on the Kings is that they are looking for a coach to rein in Boogie. He is still ingrained in the Kings' future.
The scenario has Butler along with Taj Gibson and Tony Snell going to the Kings for center Willie Cauley Stein and the King's pick in the 2016 Draft. That pick was owed to the Bulls with top 10 protection. It will be at 8th place unless the Kings (or Bulls) get lucky.
This trade will give the Bulls two lottery picks and a young center for the future. For the Kings, it gives them another star alongside Cousins.
It may not be much of a haul for Butler but the intrigue with the Bulls may cause them to lose leverage, resulting in lowball offers for Butler. If the Bulls come to a point where they need to trade Butler, this is not so bad.
