Bulls Rumors: Butler, Turner, Zipser

When Kris Dunn got past the Celtics and landed with the Timberwolves at No. 5 in Thursday night’s draft, Minnesota and Chicago engaged in trade talks involving Dunn and Jimmy Butler, per several reports. While it seemed at times like those talks were gaining momentum, the two sides ultimately didn’t make a deal, and ESPN’s Marc Stein writes today that negotiations “fizzled” out, despite the Wolves’ aggressiveness.

As Stein writes, the Bulls are big fans of Dunn, prompting the Wolves to push hard to see if the two sides could reach an agreement involving the Providence point guard. However, Chicago decided not to trade its best player just a day after moving former MVP Derrick Rose, and GM Gar Forman downplayed the discussions late last night.

According to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (via Twitter), the Wolves offered Dunn and Ricky Rubio for Butler. If Minnesota wasn’t willing to sweeten the offer any more than that, perhaps by adding Zach LaVine or another piece, it’s no surprise the Bulls weren’t convinced to move their All-Star forward.

Here’s more out of Chicago:

  • While the Celtics would like to keep Evan Turner, and the Knicks are also expected to have interest in the free-agent-to-be, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News adds another team to the list of potential suitors for Turner, writing that the Bulls are eyeing the Chicago native.
  • Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com reported last night that 48th overall pick Paul Zipser is expected to join the Bulls for the 2016/17 season, and today Givony tweets that Zipser’s buyout is worth just $600K. The small forward has one year remaining on his contract in Germany, but Chicago shouldn’t have any issues bringing him stateside, says Givony.
  • Asked about free agency, Forman indicated that the team’s sale pitch to potential targets this summer will involve selling the city of Chicago, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. As Friedell points out, the city is always a selling point, but it will be even more important this offseason, with Rose no longer a Bull and Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol potentially leaving as well — there won’t be as much veteran talent on the roster that appeals to prospective signees.
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