Trade Verdicts
NBA Trade Verdict

Slight Bulls Edge

Chicago received Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the rights to Lauri Markkanen for Jimmy Butler and Justin Patton, retaining more long-term talent while Minnesota gained the star who ended its fourteen-year playoff drought.

June 22, 2017 Chicago Bulls / Minnesota Timberwolves Record confidence: High

Chicago Bulls Received

Minnesota Timberwolves Received

Chicago Bulls

B

Minnesota Timberwolves

B-

Trade Analysis

Minnesota Paid for a Star Who Could Change Its Competitive Standard

The Timberwolves entered the 2017 draft with young talent but no playoff appearance since 2004. Acquiring Jimmy Butler reunited Tom Thibodeau with a proven two-way leader and placed an established All-NBA player beside Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. Minnesota also received the rights to Justin Patton while sending Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and the No. 7 pick used on Lauri Markkanen. The price was substantial, but the objective was precise: accelerate a talented roster from promise into immediate postseason relevance.

Butler Delivered the Playoff Breakthrough in One Season

The short-term case for Minnesota is stronger than the length of Butler's tenure suggests. He became the team's late-game organizer, best perimeter defender, and emotional standard-setter. Minnesota won 47 games and clinched a postseason berth in overtime on the final night, ending a fourteen-year absence. Butler's knee injury exposed how dependent the team had become on him, but he returned for the playoff push. That season was not a championship run; it was still a meaningful franchise result that the outgoing young core had not yet produced.

The Relationship Collapse Restricted Minnesota’s Return

Butler requested a trade before the next season, and the public practice confrontation made a long-term partnership impossible. Minnesota eventually sent him and Patton to Philadelphia for Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless, and a second-round pick. Covington had value and Saric was useful, but the downstream package did not preserve a star-level asset. The Timberwolves therefore received one important season and a diminished secondary return rather than the multiyear contention window anticipated when the original deal was completed.

Chicago Acquired Two Players Who Became All-Stars

LaVine recovered from the ACL injury that had depressed his market and became a two-time All-Star in Chicago, eventually serving as the team's primary scorer. Markkanen showed high-level shooting and scoring potential before reaching his best form after leaving the Bulls. Dunn developed into a strong defensive guard but never solved the offensive questions attached to his draft position. Chicago acquired real talent and more cumulative player value than Minnesota retained, even though the organization failed to assemble those pieces into a coherent contender.

Chicago’s Later Asset Management Limits the Grade

A retrospective trade grade cannot credit Chicago for every achievement Markkanen produced elsewhere. The Bulls did not extend or develop his role into the All-Star version later seen in Utah, and the eventual sign-and-trade return was modest. LaVine's best seasons occurred in Chicago, but the team won only one playoff game with him. Those shortcomings belong partly to later decisions, yet they reduce the realized organizational benefit of the original package. Chicago won the value comparison without transforming the return into sustained team success.

A Slight Bulls Edge Respects Minnesota’s Accomplishment

The previous Slight Partner Edge label conflicted with grades that already placed Chicago ahead. Naming the Bulls resolves that contradiction, but the separation should remain narrow. Minnesota acquired the best player at the time and ended a historic playoff drought; Chicago acquired the longer-lasting value and two future All-Stars. B and B-minus grades recognize a trade that produced meaningful benefits and serious disappointments on both sides. Neither franchise extracted the full ceiling of the assets it received.

Final Verdict

Chicago receives a slight edge with a B, while Minnesota earns a B-minus. The Bulls acquired LaVine, Dunn, and Markkanen, with LaVine becoming a two-time Chicago All-Star and Markkanen developing into an All-Star after his departure. Minnesota received the best immediate player, won 47 games, and ended a fourteen-year playoff drought, but Butler's exit after one full season and the reduced Philadelphia return limited the long-term payoff. Chicago captured more durable talent; Minnesota captured the more important single season.

For Hardcore NBA Heads

The Jimmy Butler Trade Produced Two Partial Successes and No Lasting Contender

The 2017 deal is difficult to grade because each side can point to a legitimate achievement and an obvious failure. Minnesota proved that its young core could reach the playoffs when paired with a demanding two-way star, but the partnership disintegrated before a second full season. Chicago acquired enough young talent to justify a rebuild, but did not convert LaVine, Markkanen, and Dunn into sustained postseason progress. The verdict depends on duration: the Bulls kept more value, while the Timberwolves created the more meaningful immediate result.

The Trade Was Rational for a Franchise Tired of Waiting

Minnesota had spent years accumulating prospects without establishing winning habits. Butler was in his prime, under contract below the maximum salary, and familiar with Thibodeau's defensive expectations. Trading young assets for that profile was a defensible attempt to accelerate rather than a reckless pursuit of celebrity. The problem was not the concept of adding Butler. It was the fragile relationship between the coach, the star, and the rest of the roster, which left the organization with little ability to preserve the original investment once Butler demanded an exit.

LaVine Became the Most Durable Asset in the Deal

LaVine arrived injured and needed time to regain explosiveness, but his shot creation and scoring eventually made him Chicago's clearest long-term return. He averaged star-level offensive numbers, earned two All-Star selections, and remained with the Bulls far longer than Butler stayed in Minnesota. His defensive limitations and the team's modest postseason record prevent an A-level grade, yet the acquisition worked well enough to keep Chicago from losing the trade outright even after Dunn disappointed and Markkanen's role became unstable.

Markkanen’s Later Breakout Is Both Credit and Indictment

Selecting Markkanen with the acquired No. 7 pick was a successful talent decision. He displayed shooting range and offensive potential in Chicago before injuries, coaching changes, and an uncertain role interrupted his development. His eventual All-Star leap in Utah confirms that the Bulls obtained a high-value player, but it also highlights the organization's failure to capture the full benefit. A trade grade should credit the acquired talent while limiting the reward to value the team actually realized or preserved through a meaningful downstream return.

Minnesota’s 2018 Berth Had Real Historical Weight

Calling the Timberwolves' side a failure ignores what ending the drought meant. Minnesota had not reached the playoffs since Kevin Garnett's 2004 conference-finals season. Butler's arrival raised the team's defensive accountability, late-game execution, and competitive confidence. The season ended in the first round against a dominant Houston team, but the Game 82 victory over Denver represented a genuine threshold crossed. That accomplishment supports a B-minus even though the relationship collapse and subsequent trade prevented the move from becoming a long-term win.

The Deal Shows the Difference Between Acquiring Value and Organizing It

Chicago won the duration comparison but could not arrange its assets into a stable competitive structure. Minnesota organized a playoff team almost immediately but could not sustain the human relationships required to keep it together. Those contrasting failures explain why neither side earns an elite grade. The Bulls' slight advantage comes from retaining LaVine's All-Star production and having selected Markkanen, not from superior team results. Minnesota's grade rests on one breakthrough season rather than a successful multiyear star acquisition.

Final Verdict

The Bulls win narrowly because the acquired talent lasted longer and produced two future All-Stars, while Minnesota's best result was concentrated into one season. Chicago's B acknowledges LaVine's prime production and the quality of the Markkanen selection but penalizes the failure to maximize either asset collectively. Minnesota's B-minus gives full weight to ending the playoff drought and receiving elite Butler play, while accounting for the rapid breakup and reduced downstream return. Both teams achieved part of their objective; neither built the enduring contender the trade was meant to create.

Research sources (6)