For Bulls, blockbuster trade is all about direction

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bulls set a clear direction by trading All-Star Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves on draft night last week.

The Bulls had plenty of people talking after they traded one of the NBA's top two-way players for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and No. 7 overall pick Lauri Markkanen, three newcomers who were introduced at a news conference on Tuesday.

Bulls vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said debating which team got the better end of the deal is "the wrong way to look at it" at the moment.

Only once since the Michael Jordan era has Chicago advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, losing to LeBron James and the Miami Heat in 2011.

Derrick Rose tore the ACL in his left knee in the playoff opener against Philadelphia the following year, and the Bulls haven't been a serious championship threat since then.

Agent Bill Duffy said LaVine is "definitely ahead of schedule" and called him the "consummate workaholic."

"[...] you've got to kind of mitigate his progress because he's eager to be at the (practice) facility," he added.

Dunn, meanwhile, acknowledged a difficult rookie season under coach Tom Thibodeau.