The Philadelphia 76ers have been making some serious moves before the NBA Draft as they have officially traded for the first overall pick in Thursday's draft. However, it seems they had a chance to make another trade as Stephen A. Smith described on ESPN's First Take earlier Monday:
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Smith says he got the information from his league sources that the Chicago Bulls were trying to move Butler for the No. 3 pick that the 76ers owned.
Obviously, that never came to be as Philly sent the pick as well as others to Boston for the right to pick first overall on Thursday night. Smith went on to say that Philly turned down the offer because they like their youth movement and the only veteran they would be willing to trade for would be a LeBron James or Kevin Durant kind of player who could elevate them to a whole new level.
It remains to be seen if balking at a Butler is a good idea, but it does given an idea of what both teams are looking to do down the road. The 76ers clearly want their own rebuild and the Bulls could be desperate to get something for Butler before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2019 or 2020 —- he has a player after the 2018-19 season.
[h/t The Big Lead]
