The Denver Nuggets held separate discussions leading up to Thursday night's NBA draft about deals to acquire Chicago Bulls forward Jimmy Butler or Phoenix Suns point guard Eric Bledsoe, sources told ESPN.

The deal with the Bulls would include draft picks and multiple young players but not Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, a source said.

In the trade with the Suns, the Nuggets would send point guard Emmanuel Mudiay and the No. 13 overall pick to Phoenix in return for Bledsoe, league sources said. Sources described the dialogue for those negotiations as "fluid."

Eric Bledsoe posted career highs of 21.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists last season for the Suns, who have fielded calls from the Timberwolves, Kings and Pistons about acquiring the point guard. Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Denver has for some time been seeking an upgrade at point guard.

Minnesota, Sacramento and Detroit, sources say, have all reached out to Phoenix in an attempt to gauge the price tag for Bledsoe, 27, who posted career highs of 21 points, 6.3 assists and 4.8 rebounds last season. Mudiay, 21, is coming off a season having averaged 11.9 points, 3.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds.

Should Phoenix move Bledsoe, it is anticipated that the Suns would take point guard De'Aaron Fox out of Kentucky with the No. 4 pick.