NBA trade rumors: Jimmy Butler and Kevin Love could make way to Celtics

The NBA Draft is a week away and major trades are expected to go down in the days before and after the big day.

We almost always end up being disappointed on NBA trade deadline day and draft day, mainly due to the months of wild speculation prior. Unfortunately for sheer entertainment purposes, it’s rare that multiple big deals occur on the actual day of the draft.

For instance, the Celtics made a monster trade on draft day in 2007, acquiring Ray Allen from the Sonics, but Danny Ainge did not pull off the Kevin Garnett trade until late July. The Cavaliers’ blockbuster trade of No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins did not occur until August. So, if the Celtics do trade away their No. 3 pick like many think they will, the transaction might not go down until weeks later. The Celtics could straight-up draft, say, Dragan Bender and Celtics fans could be left saying, “Really, that’s it?!” come next Friday. However, the Celtics could potentially draft Bender for another team if there’s a deal in place.

Rumor mill churning

DeMarcus Cousins isn’t coming to the Celtics. Neither is Kevin Durant. It looks as though the Celtics will have to build a championship contender by acquiring as many A- and B+ players as possible. It’s why as we get closer to the draft, the names we keep hearing are Jimmy Butler and Kevin Love. Given the current climate, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Celtics could nab them both via trade.

As I’ve said for months, the Celtics could get Love from Cleveland without giving up this year’s No. 3 overall pick. The Cavs do not want the pick. They want more reliable players to put around LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder, Kelly Olynyk and Jared Sullinger are all players the Celtics could flip for Love. At this point with Love, the Cavs will be interested in moving a dollar for four quarters despite the fact that NBA history routinely shows that those type of deals benefit the dollar receiver most. The situation with Love is that bad. Both Love and the Cavs need a divorce as it will benefit both parties.

Meanwhile, the Butler trade noise around the league has kicked up again this week. Chicago is “listening to pitches” for Butler, ESPN reported this week.

The Bulls reportedly want Wiggins and the No. 5 overall pick in this year’s draft, which is a package the Celtics could not compete with. The Timberwolves are highly unlikely to give up that much though for Butler.

The Celtics could potentially offer up this year’s No. 3 pick and next year’s Brooklyn pick to Chicago. That’s a deal Bulls GM Gar Forman would have to listen to as next year’s Nets pick has the potential to be even better than this year’s. Next year’s draft is thought to be much deeper than this year’s and the Nets will almost assuredly be one of the worst teams in the league again in 2015-16. Boston would have to find some players too to dish off to Chicago too to make money match, but with so many draft picks this year the C’s aren’t at all worried when it comes to being able to fill their roster.