Jimmy Butler trade rumors

[Split T]

Would be easier to trade LaVine for Butler in the summer if we can’t get Butler now

I was wrong about this…LaVine makes less than Butler so we wouldn’t be able to make that trade.

Butler is gonna be a FA anyway, no?

Well he has a player option. I was thinking he could opt in and be traded for LaVine…but the salaries wouldn’t work. We won’t be allowed to acquire via S&T because we are a luxury tax team.

[SunsShine]

Does Riley really want to hold onto Butler past the deadline and deal with more and more of his antics? Butler has one more year left on his contract that he will almost surely opt into. I suppose they could just leave him at home and continue to trade him in the summer, but I can’t exactly see the deals improving from here.

[TOO]

That's what I thought, so it's either trade for Butler now or move on. Interested to see what happens, still need rebounding in the worst way.

[SunsSince92]

I'll take Lavine over Beal; I don't get why Chicago would do that.

I don't want Lavine and I don't think it would make us contenders, but Beal is NOT working here. Hes just not. You have to try something different and their contracts are the same.

I don't really see the benefit of swapping Lavine for Beal. Part of the allure of bringing in Butler is that he's a legit 3. Bringing another 2 in feels like it would just replicate the issues we've had trying to accommodate Book and Beal in the same lineup. I agree we need to try something different but not sure that's the right way to go.

[SunsShine]

Yeah, LaVine would be every bit as redundant on this team as Beal and it would cost us at least 1-2 firsts just to have the same problems.

[Split T]

Ya I wouldn’t do LaVine…I wonder if we’re just trying to pressure the other teams to accept by making them think we’ll just leave them out and take LaVine ourselves if they don’t take the deal.

[Split T]

LaVine is better than Beal, but he doesn’t solve our defense, size, leadership issues at all.

[In2ition]

Beal is also from Chicago, so he’d be going home and playing for his childhood team. Beal keeps talking about finding the joy from playing again, clearly not happening here so far. He can be happy in Chicago, playing for his for favorite team growing up. He can be a tank commander again.

Hmm, I thought Beal was from St. Louis.

[Split T]

He is from St. Louis, but Chicago is probably the closest team?

[SunsShine]

There is also the Billy Donovan connection.

[Split T]

Yep..I’m not that concerned with Beal saying no. I think he’d go.

[Vladimir_Taltos]

His college coach is in Chicago…and I don’t think Beal has much choice…nobody wants him, so it might be Chicago or Phoenix.

Has much choice? What do you think a trade refusal clause is? We have ZERO leverage here!

[Split T]

His college coach is in Chicago…and I don’t think Beal has much choice…nobody wants him, so it might be Chicago or Phoenix.

Has much choice? What do you think a trade refusal clause is? We have ZERO leverage here!

Right, did you see where I said Chicago or Phoenix?

[SunsShine]

Would a team like Detroit have any interest in LaVine? Perhaps a trade where Miami receives Hardaway Jr., Beasley, Fontecchio, Detroit receives LaVine, Chicago receives Beal, and Phoenix receives Butler. Of course, I’m under the impression all three teams may desire draft compensation, making it more difficult to pull off.

[Superbone]

Boy, is Saucy going to be disappointed if we end up with LaVine instead of Butler!

[Split T]

I hope we pull something out of nowhere and end up with a starting C and a big wing off the bench. Both youngish and cost Nurk, Grayson, and 2 1sts.

[Split T]

Something like this:

Orlando gets: Grayson Allen
Portland gets: Nurk, Anthony, 2 1sts(from us), 2 2nds(from Orlando)
Phoenix gets: Avdijja and Williams

[SunsShine]

I would be totally fine with that as well. I guess I’d just prefer a Butler and center upgrade while retaining Allen. However, if Butler just isn’t in the cards, we’ll need to pivot and work around the idea of Beal staying as the sixth man. With Beal in that role, it makes Grayson expendable. This team needs more size in the worst way.

[Mori Chu]

Something like this:

Orlando gets: Grayson Allen
Portland gets: Nurk, Anthony, 2 1sts(from us), 2 2nds(from Orlando)
Phoenix gets: Avdijja and Williams

Are we allowed to do that? I thought we are not allowed to combine multiple players into a trade because we are over the 2nd apron. Have I misunderstood the rule?

[Mori Chu]

As for Lavine, I thought about that too the other day after listening to a podcast mention his name. I like Lavine more than Beal. But I think Lavine is still a bad fit here because he's still yet another finisher / scorer and we already have two guys in Book and KD who want the ball and want to finish. And Beal for all his faults is a pretty decent defender, while my understanding of Lavine is that his defense is atrocious. So it seems like kind of the same problem we have with Beal honestly, a lateral move or slight improvement at best. I would do a Beal/Lavine swap, but they would probably want us to give them picks, too, which would be an overpay IMO based on the only marginal improvement he would bring.

Another problem with a Lavine deal is that Lavine is actually having a very good season, so the Bulls want to "sell high" on him. They probably want more picks or more assets for him than they would normally ask for. Meanwhile we are "selling low" on Beal because the team is struggling and the fit is poor. I don't think we're likely to get a good trade in circumstances like this. The Miami / Butler deal only works well because Miami is also "selling low" on Butler given the deterioration of the relationship there.