One of several stars whose name has been circulated in trade rumors, Jimmy Butler does not appear to be going anywhere. But it’s not for a lack of a trade market for the small forward.
According to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, the Philadelphia 76ers have emerged as a rumored destination for Butler. Nevertheless, it appears as though the Bulls are remaining steadfast with their plan to keep their star:
The Bulls have told teams that have inquired about Butler — including, according to a source, the 76ers — that they have no plans to trade him.
News of Butler not being shopped isn’t surprising, although we have heard conflicting reports. Most believe that the only team to have had substantial talks with Chicago has been the Celtics, but some reports indicate that even those talks have not progressed to any significant level.
The surprise here is that the 76ers are getting involved in whatever talks there may be. Philly is not traditionally in the mix for star level players seeing as they are still in the midst of a rebuild.
However, their recent surge, as well as Joel Embiid’s emergence as a star in his rookie season, could have them feeling emboldened to make a win-now move. We know that the Colangelos were hired to take the Sixers out of their years of tanking and Butler would do that in a hurry. They also have the assets to compete with the Celtics or similar teams in order to woo the Bulls, especially considering Chicago is reportedly in the market for Jahlil Okafor.
Whether a core of Butler and Embiid is enough to compete in the near future is another question entirely. But it doesn’t appear as though it’s something we will get to see.
