Jimmy Butler Trade Rumors: Latest News, Buzz and Speculation on Bulls Star

Chicago Bulls star Jimmy Butler was reportedly drawing trade interest from numerous teams before free agency began, but he is expected to stay with Chicago.

Continue for updates.

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Butler Reportedly Unavailable

Tuesday, July 11

ESPN.com's Zach Lowe, citing league sources, reported that "Butler is off the market for now."

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Butler Trade Still Being Discussed by Timberwolves

Thursday, June 23

Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported the Minnesota Timberwolves and Bulls are discussing a trade involving No. 5 overall pick Kris Dunn.

Shams Charania of The Vertical previously reported the trade "broke down." Charania added the Bulls wanted Zach LaVine, while Minnesota was offering Ricky Rubio.

Chad Ford and Marc Stein of ESPN.com originally reported on June 15 the Timberwolves were looking to acquire Butler. Former Chicago head coach Tom Thibodeau is now the head coach and president of basketball operations in Minnesota, and the team's front office has made its interest clear to the Bulls.

Chicago is not actively shopping Butler, but it is listening to offers, per Ford and Stein. The team would want a hefty return that includes a top draft pick and an impact frontcourt player. Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News reported on June 13 that the Bulls would be looking to acquire Andrew Wiggins in a deal for Butler.

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Celtics, Bulls Discussed Butler Deal

Thursday, June 23

Just before the beginning of Thursday's NBA draft, Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported the Boston Celtics and Bulls were discussing a trade involving Butler. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reported Celtics forward Jae Crowder was also involved in trade talks between the teams.

Ford and Stein first reported on June 15 that the Celtics were among the teams pushing to acquire Butler. On Wednesday, Stein reported the Celtics "have been rebuffed in their efforts" to land Butler, who is one of their "prime targets."

Stein, citing sources, added that the Bulls "continue to show little interest in dealing Butler to the Celtics, who previously tried to trade for him before the league's annual deadline in February."

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All-Star Butler Has Become a Premier Player in the NBA

Butler told ESPN.com's Nick Friedell in May that he wants to stay with the Bulls, and he believes he will be in Chicago when training camp begins:

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Yeah, I think so. ... I do think that with the year that we did have last season -- it's unacceptable. So you have to then, truth be told, you got to look at everything. I didn't do my job, so truth be told, can I help this team win? That's the question that's brought up. And I can't be mad at that. You can use whatever excuse you want to use, but we didn't make the playoffs. That's all anybody sees and that's rightfully so. So do I think I'm going to be here? Yeah, I think so.

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An All-Star in the past two seasons, Butler added that he will continue to focus on basketball moving forward instead of being distracted by trade rumors.

The 26-year-old averaged 20.9 points and 1.6 steals per game last season.

Chicago missed the playoffs last year, but it is too early to trade its best player and rebuild after one season with head coach Fred Hoiberg. The Bulls should build around an established star like Butler instead of jeopardizing their future for unproven prospects.

Statistics are courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.