Hard Dealers

The calls for the Bulls to rebuild are plenty.  Many around the league seem to think they're willing to do so.  It's gotten to the point where teams are willing to offer their higher draft picks for Jimmy Butler.

For awhile now, the Boston Celtics have been interested in swapping their third overall pick because the Bulls are reportedly attracted to Providence's Kris Dunn, who is sure to be gone long before the Bulls select 14th.  Now, we hear Tom Thibodeau and his Minnesota Timberwolves would also like Butler in exchange for their fifth pick.  But the Bulls are said to want no part of it unless Andrew Wiggins is included.  Talk about really forcing the other team to give something to get something.

If the Bulls are serious about winning sooner than later, any deal that would bring back a high pick has to be considered, even if Butler is the centerpiece.  In the month leading up to the draft lottery, nobody was really excited about the Bulls' likely position.  Very few picks there turn out to be franchise changers, fueling the argument that the Bulls are stuck in basketball hell.  If they pull off a deal like the ones proposed, this past season won't entirely be for naught as they can take a step in going young, yet productive.

It would be best for everybody if either Butler or Derrick Rose was shipped out.  Everyone has had enough of these two alpha males not gelling together on the court and causing their own share of drama.  Maybe the team would take a hit talent-wise, but it's not nearly as frustrating to watch a team fail when it was expected to do so.  How many times did you want to throw your remote at your TV last year because this team was falling so far short of being the championship contender it was predicted to be?

But as the latest report would indicated, the Bulls seem committed to Butler going forward.  They didn't send him to represent them at the draft lottery for nothing.  And with Jen Swanson, a Rose ally, no longer in the organization, it's a clear sign which of the two the Bulls would fight to keep first.

So until we see something that would suggest otherwise, the fans are likely stuck with both players.  That means anytime would be a good time to connect like Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.  Of course, the rest of the talent might not make they as effective as they'd like to be.  These are trying times indeed.