NEW ORLEANS — It’s been a trade that has been circulating for the better part of a year now. It’s a good and sensible marriage — the Bulls have Jimmy Butler, a star player who can hold his own on both ends of the floor, and the Celtics have a bevy of valued assets, from draft picks in the next three years, to stashed overseas players, to productive youngsters.

So why haven’t Chicago and Boston been able to get together on a deal that would give the Celtics a star and allow the Bulls to remove themselves from the mess that the team has become?

The answer: Each franchise has pretty cold feet on a Butler deal.

MORE: Trade grades for Raptors, Magic in Serge Ibaka deal

Butler himself has been in limbo on a trade possibility. "Why talk about it?" he said from All-Star practice at the Smoothie King Center. "Why worry about it? If you’re here, you’re here. If you’re not, you’re not."

There have been tepid discussions about Butler-to-the-Celtics at various times over the past year, though nothing pressing in recent weeks, according to league sources. It’s safe to assume that there will be renewed talks this week. But that does not mean a deal will get done, not with both sides tentative about the wisdom of a trade that the rest of the NBA’s observer class seems to think is such an obvious fit.

League sources told SN this weekend that the Bulls are still very much uncertain of the direction they want to take this season. Rebuilding makes the most sense — the decision to sign veterans Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade last summer was a mistake — but the Bulls are still very much in position to make the playoffs in the East.

Front office chiefs John Paxson and Gar Forman still have the trust of chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, who has a history of patience with his front-office staffs, with both the White Sox and Bulls. But the Bulls are in danger of being a lottery team, especially if they deal Butler. Missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons after reaching the postseason in 10 of the last 11 years will reflect badly on the team’s brain trust, and not getting a playoff spot will ratchet up the heat on the front office.

MORE: Bulls among several teams eyeing Jahlil Okafor in trade talks

That’s the decision Paxson and Forman are facing. Trading Butler, especially to a well-stocked team like the Celtics, is the right thing for the franchise. But it may not be the right thing if Paxson and Forman want to keep their jobs. It’s safer to keep Butler and play out the string, revisiting the possibility of moving Butler ahead of this year’s draft.

Getting Butler is not a simple notion for the Celtics, either. Boston president Danny Ainge has been scouring the league for a star player for three years now, and Butler has the makings of a perfect fit with the Celtics. He can handle the ball. He can score. He can defend.

(Getty Images) https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/sporting_news/5e/b5/jimmy-butler-isaiah-thomas-ftr-021917jpg_m7368dj1q9421kwqttbv0cuva.jpg?t=1470843802&w=500&quality=80

But the Celtics do not want to give up their rights to Brooklyn’s pick — slated to be No. 1 overall, at least before the lottery — in this year’s draft. When Boston moved Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Nets in 2013, the assumption was always that the Celtics would deal away the picks they collected from Brooklyn for a star player.

Ainge, though, could not have known that the league-worst Nets would bottom out as far as they have this year. Nor could he have known that 2017 would be a stocked draft, and that the Celtics’ missing star could be a draftee rather than a player acquired through a trade or free agency.

The Bulls are unlikely to make a Butler-to-Boston deal without the inclusion of Brooklyn’s pick this year. But there is risk in including that pick for the Celtics. Boston is 37-20, just three games behind the Cavaliers in the East, and with Kevin Love dealing with a knee injury, the Celtics are in position to challenge for the top seed in the conference.

NBA DRAFT: Who goes No. 1 in SN's latest prospect rankings?

They can do that without Butler, instead trying to make a minor move for a contributor like Suns forward P.J. Tucker. Boston has expressed deep interest in Tucker ahead of the deadline, a source said. Get Tucker, and the Celtics can add depth without giving up on a potential No. 1 pick. And there is cap space available this summer to sign a player in free agency. Without trading for Butler, Boston could keep the pick and get a name player this summer.

Tucker is an amiable 31-year-old veteran who would fit well in Boston’s locker room. The Celtics can’t be so sure about Butler, who has come into his own this season with averages of 24.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists. That’s the kind of production the Celtics need to truly challenge the Cavaliers in this year’s postseason.

But there are questions about how Butler would fit in Boston. Isaiah Thomas has established himself has the Celtics’ marquee player, and Butler would have to be willing to take a secondary role in Boston. That dynamic could be troublesome for the Celtics. Butler is also known in Chicago for his quirky and sometimes demanding personality. That could be a problem in the Boston locker room, a generally laid-back place.

Still, Butler is an elite player, and he presents the Celtics with the opportunity Ainge has been seeking since he first made the Garnett-Pierce deal. And Boston has the opportunity to give the Bulls a real chance at starting over. Butler-to-Boston makes so much sense.

But, for both franchises, it’s just not that simple.