Last night the 2017 Nba Draft took place and saw a number of trades take place. However, none of these trades was as impactful or surprising as the one that saw three-time All-Star Jimmy Butler go from the Chicago Bulls to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Jimmy Butler trade
With the addition of Jimmy Butler (27), the Minnesota Timberwolves now have the exciting young core of Ricky Rubio (26), Andrew Wiggins (22), Karl-Anthony Towns (21) and Gorgui Dieng (27). The team now has two years to prove to Butler that this young core can improve enough to compete in the Western Conference before he can become a free agent.
With the 16th pick, the team also added center Justin Patton from Creighton. Patton is an efficient scorer and should give the team solid depth off of the bench.
The rebuilding Chicago Bulls started the process by getting Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine in the trade. LaVine is a young guard, who was having a good year last season averaging 18.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3 assists in 47 games before tearing his ACL.
Dunn was the fifth pick by the Timberwolves last season and averaged 3.8 points, 2.4 assists and 2.1 rebounds as a rookie. With the 7th pick, the Bulls got power forward Lauri Markkanen out of Arizona. He is a prototype stretch four, may be the best shooter in this NBA Draft and could replace Nikola Mirotic.
Two other semi-notable trades
The Sacramento Kings traded the 10th pick to the Portland Trailblazers in exchange for the 15th and 20th picks. Portland took Gonzaga center Zach Collins, who they hope can finally fill the four spot as someone who can protect the rim and stretch the floor. In return, the Kings took North Carolina small forward Justin Jackson and Duke power forward Harry Giles.
The hope is Jackson can develop in a Rudy Gay position, while Giles could have upside if he can overcome his injury history.
The Utah Jazz got the 13th pick from the Denver Nuggets, which they used on Louisville shooting guard Donovan Mitchell. He will give the Jazz an athletic, tough and versatile guard for their backcourt.
In return, the Nuggets got power forward Trey Lyles and drafted Tyler Lydon from Syracuse 24th. Lydon can defend and shoot but is a tweener at the forward position. Lyles averaged 6.2 points and 3.3 rebounds in his second season, but his shooting percentage dropped to 36.2%.
The other trades that happened
The Philadelphia 76ers got the 25th pick (Anzejs Pasecniks) from the Orlando Magic who received a 2020 1st round pick (Oklahoma City) and a 2020 second round pick. The Utah Jazz got the 28th pick (Tony Bradley), while the Los Angeles Lakers received the 30th pick (Josh Hart) and the 42nd pick (Thomas Bryant). New Orleans got the 31st pick (Frank Jackson), while Charlotte got the 40th pick (Dwayne Bacon) and cash.
Memphis got the 35th pick (Ivan Robb), while the Magic received a 2019 second round pick.
The Golden State Warriors got the 38th pick (Jordan Bell), while the Chicago Bulls got cash. The Los Angeles Clippers got the 39th pick (Jawun Evans), while the 76ers got cash. Memphis got the 45th pick (Dillon Brooks), while the Rockets received a future second-round pick. The Clippers selected Sindarius Thornwell with the 48th pick, giving the Bucks cash in return. Finally, the Pacers got the 52nd pick (Edmond Sumner) and gave the Pelicans cash.
