Dwyane Wade is considering his options when it comes to picking up and continuing into the final year of his contract with the Chicago Bulls. While the money will be great for Wade in Chicago, things won't be easy for him there. The Bulls traded their best player, All-Star Jimmy Butler, to the Minnesota Timberwolves and vice president of basketball operations John Paxson made it clear that Chicago is starting to rebuild with young players.
The Bulls-Timberwolves trade
The Chicago Bulls trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves took place on the night of the NBA Draft when the Bulls sent three-time All-Star Jimmy Butler to Minnesota along with the No.
16 pick in the draft in exchange for the No. 1 pick and guards Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine. Jimmy Butler was able to rejoin former Chicago head coach Tom Thibodeau in Minnesota.
The two draft picks saw the Chicago Bulls draft Lauri Markkanen, a great 7-foot tall shooter who will help fill in the hole left by the departing Nikola Mirotic. He also brings rebounding skills and toughness on the defensive side of the ball. While the draft pick was good, ESPN graded the actual trade as an F.
Jimmy Butler was only scheduled to make $18.7 million and $19.8 million over the next two seasons. While that seems like a lot of money, it was a discount for the Chicago Bulls based on his production on the court compared to similarly skilled players.
ESPN ranked Butler third behind only LeBron James and Steph Curry in wins he was responsible for last season.
The fallout from the NBA trade
John Paxson said that the Chicago Bulls have now set the direction for their franchise. He said that they plan to build it on young players and they will be patient and disciplined in their actions.
This comes after a playoff season, although one that ended much sooner than Bulls fans would have hoped. That also makes the position of Dwyane Wade on the team questionable.
Jimmy Butler had no comment when told of the Chicago Bulls trade but reuniting him with former coach Tom Thibodeau means that Butler shouldn't really miss a beat.
As for the Chicago Bulls, Kris Dunn was the fifth overall pick in the NBA Draft last year, so the talent is there. However, he was not an elite point guard in his rookie season, only shooting 28.8 percent from beyond the arc. He ranked in the last place for all players with at least 1,000 minutes played with only a .432 shooting percentage.
Zach LeVine was a first round pick in 2014 and was averaging 18.9 points a game last season before tearing his ACL in February. His ppg was the sixth highest for any player under the age of 22. However, how he returns from his injury is still to be determined.
Shortly after the Chicago Bulls traded Jimmy Butler, Dwyane Wade posted a photo on Instagram of the two of them laughing. One has to wonder if even the money can keep Wade in Chicago now.
