It’s not every day that a potential superstar becomes available in the NBA, especially via trade. The last superstar to switch teams midseason happened when the New York Knicks gutted their team to acquire Carmelo Anthony in 2011.
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There are several reasons for this, but mostly it’s the fact that teams overvalue their players. For instance, when rumors surfaced about the Chicago Bulls’ Jimmy Butler being on the trading block in the past the team wanted this kind of haul for Butler, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer:
The Bulls were at one point open to rebuilding — sort of. Chicago’s demand for Butler was two valuable draft picks and two starter-level players, according to multiple league front-office executives.
A lot of teams either A) don’t have the assets to make that trade or B) would never give up that much for Butler.
Despite all this, someone may take a chance on Butler now that he is reportedly back on the trading block, according to Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher.
He’s a young, emerging superstar who just scored 52 points. He’s playing on a bad team with zero spacing and is still averaging 25 points on 45 percent shooting. It actually makes no sense that the Bulls would even consider trading Butler. Conventionally thinking would be to move on from Rondo, hope Wade retires soon and sign free agents who will compliment Butler’s skill set.
But if Chicago are set on trading Butler there are really only two teams with the available assets to make a deal happen: Boston and Minnesota. Boston could offer up some package around Jae Crowder and the Brooklyn picks, while Minnesota has several young players they could put together to create an enticing option.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, with no picks in the near future to trade, they would have to basically give up Ingram, Randle and Russell for the Bulls to even consider.
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NBA News
Hawks trading Kyle Korver to Cavaliers will set bigger NBA events in motion – Washington Post
Cavs get stronger by acquiring Kyle Korver from Hawks: Things to know – CBS Sports
NBA Trade Rumors: Here are 25 players who could be on the move at the deadline – CBS Sports
NBA All-Star Votes: Five Takeaways From The First Round Of Returns – Sports Illustrated
One player each NBA team should look to trade in 2017 – Fox Sports
The Maximum Available 2017 Cap Space For All 30 NBA Teams, Version 3.0 – Real GM
Bulls Are Reportedly Shopping Jimmy Butler – CBS Local