Jimmy Butler and Paul George are the two most lucrative chips on the potential trade block as Thursday’s 3 PM EST trade deadline draws closer.
Adrian Wojnarowski said on The Vertical’s Facebook Live stream Wednesday night that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Nuggets got into the running for Butler or George.
“Teams are calling and Denver’s not afraid to get into the chase for big talent. We’ve seen them do it in the past. They tried to get involved with Blake Griffin in the past – the Clippers weren’t open to it. Don’t be surprised if Denver continues to try and get involved in a Jimmy Butler, in a Paul George, try to get there. Now they probably don’t have the assets to do it.”
The consensus on Butler is that the Bulls aren’t likely to part ways with the 27-year-old, but Chicago management reportedly isn’t sold on building around Butler. According to David Aldridge, the hangup on a potential deal between the Bulls and Celtics is Boston’s refusal to include Jae Crowder in trade discussions.
Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday that the Pacers are “gauging the trade market” for George. However, Indiana is really working on two fronts, per Wojnarowski. One one front, Pacers’ President Larry Bird wants to acquire pieces and continue to build around George and hopefully persuade the Palmdale, Calif. native to stay in Indiana when he’s eligible for free agency in 2018. The other side of the coin is that Bird is fielding calls on George signaling a future around budding center Myles Tuner. Wojnarowski also says the Lakers would be front runners to land George’s services in 2018 if the swingman hits the open market.
USA Today’s Sam Amick echoed Wojnarowski Wednesday and said the Lakers are “in the process of trying to land George now,” with new head of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson eager to land a star in Los Angeles. Amick also reports that although George wants to stay in Indiana and become “bigger than Reggie Miller,” free agency and the aura of the Lakers, as Wojnarowski reported, looms large.
There are conflicting reports around if Indiana is actually shopping George, according to Aldridge.
The Nuggets, armed with attractive veterans and young assets, including draft picks, could put together an enticing package for either star, but Boston, Los Angeles and others will come hard after both Butler and George if they’re available sometime between now and tomorrow afternoon.
Wojnarowski’s full comments on Denver’s situation as the trade deadline draws closer are below.
“They have some players they’re open to trading; Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Will Barton another role player. Teams are calling and Denver’s not afraid to get into the chase for big talent. We’ve seen them do it in the past. They tried to get involved with Blake Griffin in the past – the Clippers weren’t open to it. Don’t be surprised if Denver doesnt continue to try and get involved in a Jimmy Butler in a Pual George, try to get there. Now they probably dont have the assets to do it. And one player that everybody wants and everybody asks Denver for – Nikola Jokic. He is not available. They’re not trading him for anybody. Anybody. They think they have a future All-Star, a franchise player. And they hit on him with the 41st pick in the draft and they’re building their team around him. He loves Denver. He loves being a part of the organization. They’ve got a guy who wants to be there. You don’t trade that type of player. Wilson Chandler, they’ve got him under contract for another couple of years. I was told that they’re not motivated to trade Chandler for a late first-round pick. If they can get something of real value for Chandler, I’d think they’d be open to doing it but if it’s going to be another mid-20’s pick, they’re not interested in that. They’d like to make the playoffs. They haven’t done it under Tim Connelly, the GM, under Michael Malone, the coach. But they’re still looking at this deadline as a chance to set themselves up long-term, not so much on the last several weeks of the season.”
