A Monday report from ESPN indicated that the Timberwolves are eyeing Jimmy Butler as a trade target, but the Bulls may not be willing to deal their star forward. In fact, league sources at the annual Adidas Eurocamp in Italy tell Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders that Chicago is much more open to the idea of trading Derrick Rose, rather than Butler.
With Rose entering a contract year and attached to a cap number of $21MM+, it’s not clear how much interest he’ll generate, or whether any teams have made a real offer yet. However, Kyler writes that there’s a sense around the NBA that teams unable to land a starting point guard in free agency could turn to the Bulls as a potential trade partner.
Kyler passed along a few more tidbits from Italy, so let’s dive in and round up the highlights…
- Prospects like Wade Baldwin and Demetrius Jackson are viewed as potential targets for the Bulls at No. 14, particularly if the team gets serious about moving Rose, writes Kyler.
- Kyler makes note of several draft prospects whose medical issues could have an impact on their value, writing that one NBA team compared Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine to Danny Granger due to questions about his knee. While Kyler’s sources still believe Valentine will be a first-rounder, many teams believe that knee could be a problem.
- Kris Dunn is believed to have a “soft promise” in the top six, while Domantas Sabonis appears to have a similar promise from a top-12 team. A handful of international prospects, including including Ivica Zubac, Ante Zizic and Juan Hernangomez, are also believed to have promises later in the first round, according to Kyler.
- More and more executives around the NBA believe the Celtics will take either Jamal Murray or Jaylen Brown at No. 3 if they keep that pick. A. Sherrod Blakely suggested earlier this week that Boston was strongly considering Brown.
- Malachi Richardson and Demetrius Jackson are two prospects the Grizzlies have their eyes on, though their pick at No. 17 may come down to who’s still on the board at that point.
If Denzel Valentine could put up numbers like Granger did in 5 seasons before his major knee problems, I think the team that drafted him would be ecstatic.
On another note, I think teams would be interested in Rose depending on Chicago’s asking price. While Rose’s impending free agency and cap number will make a deal hard to swallow, a team would still be getting a former MVP (one that I thought he didn’t deserve, but a MVP nonetheless) and former all-star caliber player. While Rose is far removed from being a top 3-5 point guard in the league, he still can produce at a top 15-20 point guard range on a normal basis, with the occasional glimmer of his MVP days. For example, if I had the choice between say Rose, Darren Collison (another speculated point guard trade target), or Rondo (free agent)…I’d probably try to take a flier on Rose purely because his ceiling is higher than any of those three. A good game from Collison is probably equal to a slightly below average game from Rose, in my opinion, so why not try a guy who has the potential to singlehandedly win you a game here and there.
Even if Rose stays healthy it’s debatable he’s a better option than Rondo and Collison, so when you add the high likelihood he doesn’t play the amount of games the other 2 would his value is less. You can’t help a team if you don’t play