Why The Jimmy Butler Trade Frazzled No One In The East (Yet)
The Jimmy Butler trade finally fell into earth’s atmosphere on Saturday, ending (hopefully) what had been one of the most tantalizing and theatrical stories of the season.
Now we’re left to pick up the pieces. At first glance, the trade feels like a steal for the 76ers. Dario Saric, Robert Covington, Jerryd Bayless, and a 2022 second-round pick are not names that will make you blink twice (and we haven’t even mentioned that Minnesota is also giving up former first rounder Justin Patton). Jimmy is a bona fide all-star, a top 20 player in the league, and he instantaneously becomes Philly’s best perimeter threat. He’s also, simply put, way better than anything Philly gave up in the deal. Jimmy Butler will win you games on his own, and that’s why he’s on the road to Philly.
There was little question after the Celtic’s gentlemen sweep of the 76ers in last year’s Eastern Semis, that Philly needed another star (even with Joel Embiid’s proclamation that he could just it up a notch this year). A month into the season the writing on the wall has never been clearer: without another game changing player, the 76ers were not going to contend for an Eastern Conference crown. The Raptors have started the season as hot as the meteor that destroyed the dinosaurs. The Bucks have the best player in the conference. And although the Celtics are middling the fence themselves, they whooped Philly on opening night.
But now the deed has been done. Another star has been planted in Philly, in exchange for two decent rotation players. And yet for some reason, it’s hard to feel differently about the 76ers’s chances now and moving forward. The 76ers just added a really good basketball player to a team that already had two, a team that was the three seed last year, and a team that needed a basketball player of Jimmy Butler’s caliber. So why isn’t this move more celebrated? Let’s take a look at why!!!!
1. Jimmy Butler might be insane. There are are clear reasons to be hesitant about this move. Let’s get the obvious out of the way first. Jimmy Butler is now responsible for two ugly team fires. He set the village on fire in Chicago, and he burnt down the one in Minnesota because apparently he was the only one who cared about winning…. I guess (I really doubt it).
Try to tell me exactly what Butler means in his Rachel Nichol’s interview. He’s all over the place. It wasn’t that long ago the Wolves were sitting in 3rd place at 36-26 in the Western Conference before Butler tore his meniscus causing him to miss most of the remaining schedule. So don’t tell me winning was the issue. The only thing that I can truly tell is Jimmy Butler had disdain for his teammates.
Whether or not Jimmy can find happiness in Philly is a “Big If.” He’s entering another situation with a bunch of young studs at the helm of an underachieving basketball team (not nearly as underachieving as the Wolves). Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid don’t appear to be as soft as Andrew Wiggins or Karl-Athony Towns, and neither will likely back down from Butler’s antics if they arise, but there are others who might (I think we all know who). It’s just like, what happens if Butler is unhappy. What does he say? What does he do? Nobody frankly has any fucking idea, and that’s scary. We could be in for another drama-coaster. Luckily for Philly, if Jimmy Buckets burns his third village down, he’s not going to get paid like he wants to. So we’ll likely see Jimmy on his best behavior. I guess the real question is, what does Jimmy’s good behavior look like?
2. The Butler era 76er’s is a change of course
One of the sadder things about the Jimmy Butler trade is Philly brass conceding that Fultz is probably not going to be able to be fixed. And I don’t blame them. His free throw form look ugly. He looks uncomfortable out on the court. He can’t shoot. And he’s just not a good basketball player at this stage of his career.
Conceding on Fultz is not just conceding on Fultz though, it’s a redirection of the Sixers’ timeline. Bringing in Butler is a win-now move, and there are huge questions behind that. Are Embiid and Ben ready to win right now? Is this roster constructed to win right now? The bench is super thin and will be relying on players like Landry Shamet and Furkan Korkmaz to fill out the rotation. Can Mike Muscala fill Saric’s minutes effectively? Jimmy brings as many questions as he does answers. Ben Simmons still can’t shoot. What is he going to be doing when Jimmy is doing Jimmy?
3. The league’s too good and Jimmy’s not good enough.
Jimmy’s 30 and injury prone. Also, Jimmy’s good, but not great. He’s never taken a team anywhere far by himself, which means the success of the Sixers still relies heavily on Embiid and Simmons. Embiid has been playing like a superstar this year. Ben, on the other hand, needs to figure out what to do when he doesn’t have the ball in his hands. That’s two young players who need to be ready for a championship moment soon if they’re going to capitalize on Butler’s talent. Butler isn’t Lebron James. He’s not Kevin Durant. This isn’t like those additions. It’s more of a Celtics’ adding Gordon Hayward ordeal. It’s nice. It makes the Sixers better. But it doesn’t put the fear of god into anyone.
The East is really good right now. The Raptors have a transformative player in his prime and a fantastic supporting cast. The Celtics are young and deep, have the ability to play all different sorts of lineups, and Kyrie has championship credentials. The Bucks have the best player in the conference, and possibly the entire league. There’s nothing Jimmy Butler can do to change those facts. Unless the Sixers can find a way to fill in the gaps in their rotation, the Sixers have become extremely top heavy in a conference that features teams with upper tier talent and great depth. I’m not sure it’s enough, and there’s no way the top teams in the Eastern Conference believe it’s enough either.
Charlesandhisart.com 
Leave a comment