NBA trade rumors: 5 trade destinations for Jimmy Butler

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Feb 5, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Will Barton (5) guards Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) in the second quarter at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

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One team that has been overlooked the last few seasons might be a great landing spot for Butler’s talents: the Denver Nuggets. Denver is a mediocre Western Conference team that hasn’t recovered from its first round playoff loss in 2013 as a No. 3 seed, but the Nuggets have the pieces to satisfy a trade with the Bulls for Butler.

Denver has five picks in the 2016 NBA Draft, including three in the first round (No. 7, No. 15, No. 19). The Nuggets would have to give up at least No. 7 and maybe either No. 15 or No. 19 to even sniff at acquiring Butler in a trade.

However, the Nuggets do possess a great amount of raw talent on Michael Malone’s roster. General manager Tim Connelly has done a marvelous job in acquiring high-upside players since Masai Ujiri’s depature for the Toronto Raptors. Denver could send players like Kenneth Faried, Nikola Jokic, Jusuf Nurkic, Will Barton, and even point guard Emmanuel Mudiay to Chicago to temp the Bulls to trade Butler away.

With a handful of the players on the Nuggets’ roster, Chicago just might be able to hang around playoff contention in 2016-17 even after trading Butler to Denver. The Nuggets lack star potential, but do have a young corps that possesses a lot of trade value. Denver’s not the first place the Bulls might think to trade Butler to, but it just might be one of the best teams for Chicago to conduct business with.

Next: 1. Boston Celtics.

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