During the offseason, the Charlotte Hornets attempted to acquire Jimmy Butler from the Chicago Bulls but the deal didn’t gain any traction.
According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, the Charlotte Hornets “made initial inquiries with Chicago about Jimmy Butler last spring.” Their negotiations didn’t get very far as “the Bulls had no interest in anything they had.” Even though the deal never materialized, it looks like Rich Cho tried to get another superstar to pair with Kemba Walker.
Chicago ended up trading Butler and the 16th overall pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a draft-day trade. The Bulls got back a package of Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the seventh overall selection in the 2017 NBA Draft. I guess the Hornets couldn’t put together a deal that rivaled that of the T-Wolves.
Jimmy would’ve been a huge get for Charlotte. Butler has quite the resume in the NBA as he is a three-time all-star, a three-time second team all-defensive player, a one-time third team all-NBA player and the 2014-15 Most Improved Player.
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The 28-year is coming off of a career season in 2016-17 where he averaged 23.9 points per game, 6.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists while shooting 45.5% from the field, 36.7% from three and 86.5% from the free throw line. After such a great season, it easy to see why the Bulls’ asking price was so high even though they were determined to sell Butler.
Jimmy’s contract runs through the 2018-19 season with a $19.8 million player-option for the following year. For the Hornets to match his contract in a trade, they would’ve had to deal Nicolas Batum straight up or a package of players like Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Jeremy Lamb/Frank Kaminsky. Like Minnesota, Charlotte likely would’ve had to swap first round picks with Chicago meaning they would’ve traded the 11th overall pick (Malik Monk) to instead select at No. 16.
The Hornets knew that they needed to add another superstar to their roster but ultimately didn’t have enough to get the Bulls’ interest. It’s unclear if Charlotte traded for Dwight Howard after failing to get Butler but pulling off both of those moves would’ve given the team a true Big Three this season.
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Credit to Rich Cho and the front office for at least being ambitious and going after Jimmy Butler. Now knowing that the Charlotte Hornets missed out on the wing player, it will always be a “what if” situation.