The Celtics are pursuing Butler; the Bulls won’t let him go easily

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According to a report by CSNNE columnist A. Sherrod Blakely, league sources indicate that the Celtics will continue to pursue Bulls forward Jimmy Butler this summer, but the Bulls do not seem likely to give up on this All-Star player easily. League sources say that although the Bulls are still willing to consider offers from other teams on Jimmy Butler via 66sbv.com, their current plan is simply to assess Butler’s capabilities, with the Bulls preferring to keep him. The Celtics possess the first-round draft pick this summer, which belongs to the Nets – whose record this season is the third-worst. A. Sherrod Blakely said that although this draft pick, likely to be one of the top three in the first round, is extremely attractive to the Bulls, they have been told that in addition to the Nets’ first-round pick, the Celtics need to add at least one \"quality NBA starter\" for the Bulls to consider such a deal seriously. “And perhaps the (negotiation) time will be very long. ”The source said so. Vincent Goodwill, a reporter from CSN Chicago, reported that before this season’s trade deadline, the Celtics and Bulls discussed a trade involving Butler; the Celtics refused to include forward Jay Claude in the offer, which ultimately led to the failure of that deal. The Green Warriors will have three first-round picks and five second-round picks this summer, and excluding Amir Johnson and Jonas Jerebko’s non-guaranteed contracts for next season, they will also have around $35 million in salary cap space. A. Sherrod Blakely said that the Celtics need to acquire an All-Star like Butler first, in order to have enough resources to attract superstars like Kevin Durant in the free market. Furthermore, A. Sherrod Blakely revealed that aside from Jimmy Butler, the Celtics have another possible direction for the future – namely, they might continue to pursue DeMarcus Cousins, the All-Star center from the Kings. However, the Kings’ current plans are similar to those of the Bulls; they are also at a stage where they are merely considering offers without any intention of actually making a deal. During this season’s regular season, Jimmy Butler played 67 games for the Bulls, averaging 20.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in 36.9 minutes per game.