Bulls send Butler to Minnesota; draft Markkanen

It was starting to look like the Chicago Bulls would keep plugging along next season with Jimmy Butler as their star player.

But Thursday night's blockbuster trade sending Butler to Minnesota — for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the No. 7 draft pick, which turned into 7-foot sharpshooter Lauri Markkanen — probably was inevitable going all the way back to the night Butler criticized coach Fred Hoiberg after a game in New York in December 2015.

Following a rough loss, a frustrated Butler vented to reporters that Hoiberg needed to coach the team harder. In itself, the comment wasn't wise, but also not a big deal.

Butler probably meant that as a message to his teammates as much as Hoiberg, and the laid-back Hoiberg brought a much different personality than the only coach he has known in the NBA, Tom Thibodeau.

But it didn't end there.

A few days later, Butler was asked to meet with management, and things didn't go well. Butler was still angry about the friction between Thibodeau and the Bulls' front office that dominated the previous two seasons.

Butler tried to smooth things over with Hoiberg and management. He appreciated playing in Chicago and hoped to stay.

But the smoke was billowing this week, and the Bulls made the decision to start a roster rebuild, roughly six weeks after vice president of basketball operations John Paxson stated the Bulls did not want to embark on a full-scale rebuild.

“What we've done tonight is set a direction,” Paxson said at the Advocate Center. “We've decided to make the change and rebuild the roster.

“When you look at it, we got three lottery picks out of it and young guys. It is rebuilding. When you do this, you understand it's going to be difficult.”

Paxson said the decision to trade Butler boiled down to getting the right offer, something that hadn't presented itself before Thursday.

The Bulls certainly got a rising young star in LaVine, along with two potential starting-caliber players, but it may take years to determine if this trade was the right choice for the franchise.

Butler was in Paris on Thursday and did not comment publicly. Based on social-media reports, he appeared to be spending the night with now former teammate Dwyane Wade and New York's Carmelo Anthony. Wade already has opted in to spend a second season with the Bulls.

“You do need some veteran presence in a locker room,” Paxson said. “Dwyane is a pro. He's seen a lot. We haven't talked to him yet, and we will. If Dwyane was really concerned about it, he might not have picked up his option.”

By trading Butler, the Bulls take some pressure off Hoiberg. The team will not be expected to make the playoffs next season. Paxson admitted he expects to have more high draft picks in the near future.

The new centerpiece of the team is LaVine, a two-time slam-dunk contest champion who averaged 18.9 points last season, his third in the NBA. LaVine was chosen two picks after the Bulls took Doug McDermott No. 11 in the 2014 draft.

The concern with LaVine is he tore the ACL in his left knee last Feb. 3, so it's not clear if he will be ready for the start of next season.

The 6-5 Dunn was the No. 5 overall pick last year out of Providence, but he didn't play much as a rookie, averaging 3.8 points.

General manager Gar Forman said a decision has not been made on Rajon Rondo's team option for next season. The Bulls have until June 30 to decide.

Once everyone gets healthy, the Bulls' depth chart could feature Dunn, Cameron Payne and maybe Rondo at point guard; Wade, LaVine, Denzel Valentine and Paul Zipser at the wings; Bobby Portis and Markkanen at power forward; Robin Lopez and Cristiano Felicio at center.

Paxson said he does still expect restricted free agent Nikola Mirotic to be back.

Since Minnesota absorbed most of Butler's salary in this deal, the Bulls could bring back Rondo and still have about $30 million in cap space this summer, but Paxson confirmed the Bulls don't plan on spending it right away.

With the newly obtained No. 7 pick, the Bulls chose Markkanen from Arizona. He's a big man renowned for his outside shooting.

The native of Finland shot 42.3 percent from 3-point range during his one college season, averaging 15.6 points. The Bulls were one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the NBA last season.

On a conference call with reporters at the Advocate Center, Markkanen said he never has been to Chicago. The Bulls are expecting to bring Markkanen, LaVine and Dunn into town together next week for a news conference.

“It was definitely a little bit of a surprise that I'm going to be a Bull, but I'm happy to be there and looking forward to it,” Markkanen said. “I've been working on shooting NBA 3s, and it's not different for me. I can make shots even better than college 3s. It's not a problem for me.”

According to sports-reference.com, Markkanen's 69 3-pointers last season were the most by a 7-footer in college basketball since 2000. His father, Pekka Markkanen, was a role player at Kansas in 1989-90, then had a long pro career in Europe.

The Bulls chose Oregon forward Jordan Bell in the second round but traded him to Golden State for a reported $3.5 million.

Paxson said the Bulls were eyeing a few wings and when those players went off the board they were concerned Bell wouldn't make the final roster.

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