Jimmy Butler (Photo : NBAE via Getty Images)
If the latest NBA trade rumor/conspiracy theory is true, then it's a safe bet that Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls is the superstar most likely to get traded.
In the Mike and Mike show on ESPN, Ryen Russillo had some bold revelations that could explain the reason why the Bulls front office inexplicably want to trade Jimmy Butler, their best player by far.
Basketball Forever recounted Russillo's narrative: "The story starts back before Jimmy was a restricted free agent after his 3rd year. He was averaging 13 ppg and the Bulls FO offered him a 4 yr/$44 million extension to which Jimmy declined."
Because of Butler's refusal, "the Bulls FO then told him that they'd start Tony Snell over him and give Snell Jimmy's minutes and give Jimmy the minutes Snell got off the bench to hurt his numbers and decrease his value in the upcoming free agency."
According to Russillo, it was then-coach Tom Thibodeau who did not agree of this plan and instead, groomed Butler into stardom by giving him the bulk of the playing time and even matching him up against the opponents' best players. As Russillo revealed, "Thibodeau looked out for Butler and this was supposedly one of the reasons why Thibs and the FO had issues that ultimately led to his departure."
Since then, the relationship between the Bulls front office has been strained and this is why the Jimmy Butler trade rumors would not die despite him signing a contract extension.
Russillo also stated that Butler confided this story to Dwyane Wade, fellow veteran and superstar. Wade has sympathized with Butler and now that the Chicago Bulls are in turmoil, it seems like the two of them are now engaged in confrontation with the front office and even the rest of the team.
From Vincent Goodwill of CSN Insider, here's Butler's response:
"I'll tell it to you like this. That s**t happened so long ago I didn't think it was a matter of anything," Butler said. "We went into contract negotiations. I said I would hoop and play the year out. I did that, had a decent little year. We won't go into detail about what was said, what wasn't said, it's not anybody's business."
Butler's dismissive stance would lead to suspicions that Russillo may have touched a nerve here. If that is the case, then it totally makes sense to trade Butler but the revelation may affect his trade value now that other teams know that they have an issue.
