Breaking Down the Jimmy Butler Trade, Day 3: My Opinion

Welcome to The Truda Report everybody. Today will be my final day dealing with the Jimmy Butler trade. I'll be giving my opinion on the pros and cons for each side of the deal, and just an overall consensus on who won the trade. At the bottom of this article I will list some big news topics that I will be covering the next couple of days, so make sure to let me know which you want to hear about most. To do that, follow my Instagram @thetrudareport and comment which topic I should do tomorrow.

The Trade:
The Chicago Bulls received last years 5th overall pick Kris Dunn, Zach Lavine, and this years 7th overall selection which was Lauri Markkanen. The Minnesota Timberwolves received 2 time All Star Jimmy Butler and the 16th overall selection which was Justin Patton.

My Opinion:
The Bulls got fleeced. It's as simple as that. They gave up a top 10 player in the world, and got back what looks like a draft bust (Kris Dunn), an injured asset reliant on his explosiveness (Zach Lavine), and a decent draft pick (7th pick which was Lauri Markkanen). Now, obviously, when a team is entering a rebuild they can't be trying to get established veterans back; they need assets. My issue, though, is that one of those assets couldn't beat out RICKY RUBIO *gag* for the starting spot, and the other one is reliant on his explosiveness, but has an ACL injury. Markkanen seems like a good pick, and he could definitely become a great player, but getting back one promising player for an All Star is not enough.

Another thing completely wrong with this trade for the Bulls, is that they gave up their first round draft pick along with Jimmy Butler. When the goal is to acquire assets in exchange for a proven star, YOU CANNOT BE GIVING UP DRAFT PICKS. Justin Patton was selected in the 16th spot by the Timberwolves, which makes the Bulls look incredibly stupid, since he was considered a good fit for the Bulls. Markkanen and Patton could have been the Bulls big men of the future. Now, I'm not saying both Markkanen and Patton will turn out to be good players, because that's still and unknown. The point of drafting players, though, is to bring in young talent that could one day sprout into quality starters, or even stars. So in the Bulls situation, when your giving up Jimmy Butler for Dunn, Lavine, and Markkanen (which is not a good trade by the way), to then add in their draft pick is like exchanging a $20 bill for a $5 bill. It's just stupid and wasteful. 

I'm a Chicago Bulls fan, so I spent a lot of time talking about the Bulls side of things. I want to turn quickly to the Timberwolves perspective. If you're Tom Thibodeau and you just got fleeced your former team, that makes this trade so incredibly sweet. Acquiring Jimmy Butler is a great achievement on any day, but the fact that he was able to leave a gash in the side of his former employer makes it a lot better. Butler's fit on the T-Wolves can be questionable in terms of floor spacing (they don't have many 3 point shooters) but his defense will help them infinitely. They are also reportedly shopping Ricky Rubio in hopes of getting back a good shooting point guard. If they can do that, this team is easily a Playoff contender. Minnesotans should be happy.

I'd like to say one last thing about the Bulls. I was a supporter of trading Jimmy Butler because I recognized the need to rebuild, but I also understood that his contract situation was perfect. He has two years left, so if the Bulls couldn't get the deal they wanted for Butler on draft night, there would still be no rush to trade Jimmy. The trade deadline of this upcoming season would then be the time to pull the trigger on a trade undervaluing Butler. Being a player with one year left on the contract significantly reduces their value (see Paul George) but players with multiple years left, at the trade deadline, INCREASE IN VALUE. Teams like the Celtics or Rockets that are on the brink of greatness would be willing to give up more than usual if they think acquiring a star could put them over the hump and win them a chip. This is especially the case when that said star has another year left on their contract, so they would be able to have multiple shots at a title with the team trading for them. It would be highly unlikely that Butler would go for this little at the trade deadline, so this was not a smart move by the Bulls front office.

Overall, I think the Bulls could either be lucky and come out of this with a starting point guard, shooting guard, and power forward, or come out of this like the losers they seem to be today. I hate to say it, but I think even Phil Jackson understands the value of players better than the Bulls do (and Phil thought that asking for the Celtics to give up this years number 3 pick, Jaylen Brown (last years number 3 pick), Jae Crowder, and the Nets 2018 first round pick was reasonable for Kristaps Porzingis). The Bulls got fleeced, and I'm ashamed to be their fan today.

Speaking of Phil Jackson, here are the possible topics for tomorrow:

• Russel Westbrook wins MVP, but did he deserve it?
• Phil Jackson is gone from New York.
  
• Chris Paul traded to the Houston Rockets.