Boston Celtics president Danny Ainge wants to nab Chicago Bulls star Jimmy Butler before Thursday’s trade deadline, and the “main sticking point” is not which draft pick (or picks) are included in the deal, but whether or not forward Jae Crowder will be involved, according to TNT’s David Aldridge, via CelticsHub’s Brian Robb.

“I think the Jimmy Butler stuff is real,” Aldridge said on NBA TV. “They have been trying to get Jimmy Butler. [Ainge] doesn’t want to give up Jae Crowder. That’s the main sticking point there and he doesn’t want to give up Jae Crowder in a deal and that’s the guy the Bulls are insisting on right now in any package for Butler.

“The picks will work themselves out. Boston has about 600 first-round picks in the next five years, so they’ll make it work. That part I’m not worried about. I think it really comes down to Crowder. In terms of real, tangible players, I think Danny would like to go into the playoffs with Smart, Bradley, Crowder defensively along with Butler, Horford, Thomas offensively. I think he feels like that’s he only way they’ll be able to compete with a team like Cleveland.

“Chicago, I think rightly, is saying, ‘If you want our best player, we’re not going to just do it for picks. We’re not going to take guys you aren’t going to keep on your roster. We want a guy that is going to be able to grow with us, along with one of those high picks.’ They want a top half of the lottery type of pick for Jimmy Butler, along with a starting established player under contract. I understand that from Chicago’s point of view.”