Chicago Bulls have ‘legitimate interest’ to trade Jimmy Butler

The Chicago Bulls reportedly have ‘legitimate interest’ in trading Jimmy Butler this offseason.

The Chicago Bulls’ days near the top of the Eastern Conference are gone, thanks to countless injuries, wavering effort, and a failed offense that ranks 27th in efficiency under new head coach Fred Hoiberg.

Essentially, there’s plenty of motivation for them to make some major changes this offseason as they hope to fully move in a new direction from the 2010-11 days of MVP Derrick Rose and their ageing, beaten up frontcourt.

Jimmy Butler is at the forefront of their future, whether he stays put on his five-year, $95 million contract to be the new face of the franchise as most would have expected or leaves in a blockbuster trade.

The latter idea has always seemed relatively bizarre given his top-tier defensive impact and remarkable improvements offensively to average 21 points per game, but Chris Mannix of The Vertical has reported in a discussion with Bobby Marks that there’s legitimate interest from the Bulls to consider trading Butler this summer:

"I’ve been hearing rumblings that there is legitimate interest in Chicago in potentially dealing Jimmy Butler this offseason."

It was only a brief comment from Mannix, but that’s all that needed to be said. The Bulls have entered a rebuild mode that no one saw coming, especially not to this extent. At 37-37 and ninth in the Eastern Conference, they’re set to miss the playoffs, giving them the option to build around Butler or use him to acquire multiple assets in return.

This isn’t the only murmur of a potential Butler trade either. Teams were reportedly trying to make deals for him at the deadline in February, obviously coming up short for whatever the Bulls may have asked for in return — if they took offers rather than shooting them all down.

Mannix also reported this week that executives from several teams plan on pursuing Butler again:

"Indeed, no one is untouchable. The palace intrigue that surrounded Butler and Hoiberg prompted several teams to inquire about Butler’s availability at the trade deadline. Though they were rebuffed, several rival executives told The Vertical they intend to try again. Boston was among the teams trying to pry away Butler in February, and several executives point to Orlando, with its treasure trove of young players and defensive-minded head coach, as a team to watch closely in the pursuit of Butler."

Beyond the idea to restructure the roster with multiple pieces rather than a top two-way All-Star like Jimmy Butler, the issue of his health will have entered the minds of those in the Bulls’ front office. In both 2013-14 and 2014-15, Butler played no more than 67 games.

This season is also no different after he missed 15 games through February and March with a knee injury, prompting concerns over potential lingering health problems for the future.

Ultimately, there’s no doubt that the Bulls need to be in some kind of rebuild mode, despite having talented pieces and veterans to work around. Pau Gasol is likely on his way out of Chicago, Joakim Noah is on an expiring contract with injury concerns, Rose obviously isn’t the player he once was, and the offense simply isn’t working.

As for Butler, we’ll have to wait and see just how much talent the Bulls are willing to sell if they look into moving him this summer.

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