Nuggets talk to Bulls, Suns about Jimmy Butler, Eric Bledsoe trades

The Denver Nuggetsheld 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 centerNikola 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."

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 guardDe'Aaron Foxout of Kentucky with the No. 4 pick.