Latest rumors have emerged that the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics are set to "rekindle" their discussion about a potential trade with Jimmy Butler as the centerpiece.
According to the Chicago Tribune, executives of the two clubs' rival teams are thinking that Chicago and Boston "will rekindle trade talks centered on Butler" from now until the NBA's trade deadline on Feb. 23, saying that the "Celtics remain interested in a Butler pursuit".
There are reports buzzing around that the level of trust between Butler and the Bulls front office has not been very good these days and an incident that happened three years ago may have something to do with that.
ESPN radio's Ryan Russillo said on Tuesday that Chicago management had "threatened" to cut Butler's minutes in 2014 if he did not agree to a four-year, $44 million extension to his rookie deal. A deal was then reached and Butler went on to win the 2015 Most Improved Player Award.
In the summer of 2015, the three-time NBA All-Star then signed a new five-year $92.3 million contract.
"That (expletive) happened so long ago I didn't think it was a matter of anything," Butler told reporters on Wednesday. "We went into contract negotiations. I said I would play the year out. I did that, had a decent little year. We won't go into detail about what was said, what wasn't said. It's not anybody's business. We got a deal done. I thought it was a fair deal. That's that."
Butler then went to say that he "don't remember what went on" and that his agent was "handling the majority of it" and so he could not divulge the details of what took place, before telling the media that "it ain't y'all business anyway".
Meanwhile, NESN reported that the Celtics can provide the Bulls what they want in exchange for Butler.
The report mentioned that Boston almost acquired Butler during the 2016 NBA Draft but a deal was canceled at the last minute. It also said that the Celtics were also linked to Butler during last year's trade deadline and the Bulls would have dealt the wingman if Boston had offered the "right pieces".
Apparently, the Celtics have the right now pieces at the moment and a trade could soon transpire.
