National Basketball Association fans had become exhausted hearing about all of the trade rumors involving Jimmy Butler’s name.
Whether or not the Bulls promised Butler he won’t be traded doesn’t matter at this point.
After the fun, however, Butler reportedly found out in the middle of the night that the Bulls had traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Bulls selected 6’11 center Justin Patton of Creighton with the No. 16 overall pick, sending him to Minnesota.
Markkanen – officially drafted by Minnesota, but traded to Chicago in the deal that sent Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves – will become the second Finland-born player in the National Basketball Association, after Hanno Mottola. Aside from player development and available prospects, the extra time taken made the team more comfortable making the trade this time.
Thursday’s move represents the first significant steps toward an overhaul for the Bulls.
For more on the deals check out the Timberwolves official team release below. The two players the Bulls got back come with question marks. Kris Dunn was a huge disappointment in his rookie year.
Dunn’s shooting is his biggest weakness. Par for the course, since the last week or so has been nothing short of jaw-dropping, with big moves dropping one after the other. If Dunn gets an opportunity to play regular minutes that could change.
The deal reunites Butler with Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau, who coached Butler from 2011-2015. Zach LaVine seemed to make progress, but coming off an ACL injury is always tricky, and he’s due an RFA extension after next season. During an interview with Uproxx, LaVine sounded positive that he would return to form. He was the best shooter available in the draft, we’ve been reassured. It’s healed really well.
Make no mistake about it, this trade needed to happen.
While many will point to Griffin’s departure as the reason deals haven’t got done just three weeks into their offseason, the truth is that acquiring new talent was never easy for the Cavs. LaVine’s shortcomings are on defense, which can be crafted as he continues to rehab.
Lauri Markkanen reacts after being selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves as the seventh pick overall during the NBA basketball draft, Thursday, June 22, 2017, in NY. Markkanen has at least two years of work ahead of him.
Jimmy Butler is officially gone.
Butler was at Paris Fashion Week and was even featured in a Snap with his now-former teammate Dwyane Wade about 15 hours before the trade was announced.
Chicago also drafted OR centre Jordan Bell in the second round with the No. 38 pick and sent him to Golden State for cash. If the Bulls had kept the pick, it would look like a better deal on paper.
The Chicago Bulls chose to rebuild without Jimmy Butler rather than reload with him.
The T-Wolves could potentially have three all-stars in their starting lineup next season.