Jimmy Butler is reportedly being shopped by the Bulls as they look to collect assets and begin building for the future. This isn't the first time trade rumors have surrounded Butler. Chicago has listened to calls for the last few years, however, this is the first time he's been actively shopped.
It appears as if Butler doesn't want to leave. According to Marc Stein of ESPN, Butler wants to stay with the Bulls long term and isn't sure if he could commit to the Cavaliers long term. He's more interested in staying with the Bulls and returning them to contender status.
Sources told ESPN on Tuesday that the Cavaliers have been notified that Butler hopes to stay with the Bulls and would be reluctant to commit his long-term future to Cleveland. Butler, sources said, remains intent on trying to lead the Bulls back to Eastern Conference prominence.
According to David Aldridge, he told the Cavs that he would rather stay with Chicago than be traded to Cleveland.
Per source, Jimmy Butler has informed Cavs that he wants to stay in Chicago rather than be traded to Cleveland.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) June 21, 2017
This will put a damper on Cleveland's plans to add another star next to LeBron James. If Butler doesn't want to play in Cleveland long term then they can't possibly trade Kevin Love or Kyrie Irving for him. They'd be throwing away their long term future for short term gain that might not even succeed.
Butler on the other hand wants to stay in Chicago, which makes it much more difficult for the Bulls to shop him if that's the case. Chicago can still attempt to trade Butler, but teams are less likely to give decent return if the player they're trading for doesn't have a desire to be traded.
