NBA draft grades: Everyone hated the Bulls’ night except the Bulls themselves

The Chicago Bulls broke the internet by trading perennial All-Star Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the No.7 pick in the NBA draft. The trade yielded meager return for an All-Star starter, even more so after the Bulls included their No. 16 pick to sweeten the deal.

The trade gets Chicago off the hook of paying Butler a designated player contract worth more than $205 million over five years but sends the star forward out West for pennies on the dollar. Bulls VP John Paxson said the trade set a direction toward rebuilding the roster around head coach Fred Hoiberg:

“It’s always difficult to trade a player and a person that has meant a lot to the organization and we really watched grow as a player,” Paxson said, according to the Chicago Tribune’s K.C. Johnson. “That said, we’ve set a direction. We’re going to rebuild this roster through young players that we believe can play a system that Fred is comfortable with. We’re going to be disciplined and patient along the way.”

Yet the unanimous verdict from experts has given Chicago an F (or worse) draft-day grade. It was easily the single-worst deal a team made on Thursday. This much our NBA draft maestro, Ricky O’Donnell, and most other writers agreed on:

For Butler, this means a reunion with Tom Thibodeau, his first NBA coach. The Wolves are acquiring an All-NBA-caliber player who has improved every year of his career. Paired with Karl-Anthony Towns, the Wolves suddenly have one of the best one-two punches in the league. The playoffs shouldn’t be out of the question next year, and maybe even beyond.

On the other hand, the trade is a disaster for Chicago. Kris Dunn didn’t show anything as a rookie, Zach LaVine is a nice young player coming off a torn ACL and the team had to trade its No. 16 pick just to acquire No. 7. With that selection, the Bulls took Lauri Markkanen, a great 7’0 shooter with major questions on the glass and defensive end.

The Wolves are the big winner of the draft. The Bulls are the big fat losers.

Fox Sports somehow gave the Bulls lower than an F after they dealt the No. 38 pick to the newly crowned champions for, you guessed it, cash considerations.

A team that reportedly wanted the sun and the moon for Butler all season long settled on a few magic beans and a pick swap.

Then, as if to rub their incompetence in our faces, the Bulls sold the No. 38 pick to the Warriors, allowing Golden State to add the player it most wanted in Oregon’s Jordan Bell.

The only saving grace for Chicago on this one is getting Markkanen, as he rates as one of the best big men in the draft. Bully for the Bulls.

Chicago was the clear loser of Thursday’s draft after ignoring trade offers from teams with more assets to settle on this package. Hopefully its fan base sticks around to see these players pan out.