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The Chicago Bulls could have a chance to right one of the franchise’s biggest wrongs in recent memory, a trade that sent away one of the organization’s biggest stars.
Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas vowed to make changes to the roster with his team coming off a 39-43 season and missing the playoffs for the second year in a row and the sixth time in the last seven seasons.
As faith in him had already begun to diminish internally, another big splash could be in order.
Karnisovas is responsible for dealing away multiple players and draft capital that have turned into key parts for their new teams.
He has been granted the autonomy to take the franchise in any direction he wants. He has also been on the record saying a rebuild isn’t that. Instead, perhaps Karnisovas should explore undoing the trade that sparked this current iteration of the Bulls, a move that preceded him.
This hypothetical trade scenario would see the Bulls trade for Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler.
Bulls get:
Heat get:
– Zach LaVine
– Dalen Terry
– 2027 first-round pick
– 2030 first-round pick swap
The Bulls have tried to trade LaVine for the last year-plus. The Heat were among the various rumored suitors at one point. Terry would be an unfortunate casualty in the deal.
It is unclear how much interest the Heat would have in LaVine now that Tyler Herro is locked into a four-year, $120 million contract. Adding the remaining three years of LaVine’s five-year, $215.1 million pact could be considered a non-starter for a shrew Heat front office.
But Herro operated as Miami’s point guard last season which could ease a potential logjam.
Butler was the Bulls’ franchise cornerstone, a former late first-round pick (No. 30 overall in 2011) made good. But they sent him to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a trade in 2017.
Butler wore out his welcome in Minnesota, forcing a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers kept Butler for just one half-season, trading him to Miami in 2019. A return to the team that drafted him could be in order.
Jimmy Butler, Heat Heading Toward Crossroads
“The Heat, when healthy, remain formidable, and Butler is worth the trouble,” The Athletic’s David Aldridge wrote on May 3. “But there have been murmurings this year that Butler and the Heat may no longer be singing from the same hymnal.”
Aldrige cites Butler’s individualism but notes the Heat have largely accepted it.
It’s not just about Butler’s performance, though he remains at the center of their outlook. There is an expectation for changes at a time when Butler is seeking continuity.
“I think there’s some potential for major fireworks with the Heat this summer, in part because there’s always the potential for major fireworks with the Heat,” ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on “The Lowe Post” podcast on May 3. “But it starts with Jimmy Butler who just wasn’t the same guy this year, even when he was healthy.”
Lowe pointed to dips in Butler’s efficiency on two-point field goals and ongoing durability concerns among the issues the Heat face. The six-time All-Star, Butler, appeared in fewer than 70 games for the 11th time in his 13-year career.
Butler is going into the final year of a three-year, $146.4 million contract.
He has made $263.2 million in his career, per Spotrac. Butler is eligible for a one-year, $58.6 million pact, or one worth $112.9 million over two years this offseason, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
“His impact always transcends his counting stats. It didn’t this year in the same way,” Lowe said. “It would not surprise me if there were some Jimmy Butler trade rumblings this offseason if those extension talks don’t go well. Because if I’m Jim Butler, I want all the money. I want all the money. I saved your franchise.”
The Bulls now are where the Heat were then before making the trade for Butler.
2024 Bulls Similar to 2019 Heat Before Jimmy Butler Trade
Lowe points to Butler helping the Heat become a perennial playoff threat and their runs to the Eastern Conference Finals to bolster his franchise-saving claims.
The Heat were coming off a 39-43 season in 2018-19. They had missed the playoffs for the third time in the last five seasons when they acquired Butler. It was in a sign-and-trade with the Sixers, who again loom as a potential trade suitor this offseason.
They have made the playoffs in each of the last five seasons.
The Bulls can replace LaVine’s money with Bulter’s in this trade while adding something they’ve lacked for a few years: toughness. The Heat would get younger in addition to adding draft capital.
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