The Case For Jimmy Butler To Boston
Reports out of the Land of 1,000 Lakes makes any casual fan believe Jimmy Butler will be moved from the Timberwolves sometime between now and the beginning of the season. UNPLUGG’D NBA staff writer Karim Noorani writes about what he thinks is the most logical fit
The Celtics are in an odd predicament.
The team came within minutes of the NBA Finals last season, yet their two best players — Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward — did not play a single playoff minute. Sure, some of that is due to the inferiority of the Eastern Conference, yet eliminating teams led by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid before pushing the Lebron-led Cavs to a Game 7 is undoubtedly impressive.
Put simply, the Celtics were pretty good last year and, on paper, their talent will only be better in the upcoming season. An Irving-Brown-Tatum-Hayward-Horford lineup has enough star power to compete with The Hamptons Five, and the depth of the Celtics roster already has coach Brad Stevens gushing about his bench.
Despite being one of the youngest teams in the NBA, however, the Celtics’ window of opportunity feels short. Kyrie Irving’s contract will expire after this season, potentially adding another superstar to an unprecedented free agent class so loaded with talent that teams have been lining up cap space for years.
Irving recently stated that he intends to re-sign with the Celtics in the coming offseason, yet no one should be taken at their word in the modern NBA. The Toronto Raptors gave their word to Demar DeRozan this offseason that they wouldn’t trade him, only to do so days later. DeAndre Jordan gave his word to sign with the Dallas Mavericks in 2015 only to be swayed into re-signing with the Clippers in the final hour. The Los Angeles Clippers went so far as to simulate a jersey retirement ceremony at Blake Griffin’s free agent pitch meeting in 2017, then proceeded to trade him six months after he re-upped.
At the end of the day, professional sports are still a business. Front offices do what’s best for their team. Athletes do what’s best for themselves and their families. And in the Celtics’ situation, Kyrie Irving will do whatever he feels is best for Kyrie Irving when the 2019 offseason rolls around. So, while the Celtics are well positioned for the future, there is still plenty of uncertainty.
What makes the Irving scenario especially fascinating is the rumors, reported by multiple media outlets, that he has entertained the idea of teaming up with fellow 2019 free agent Jimmy Butler. Oftentimes, reports like these foreshadow big offseason movement. During the 2015–16 NBA season, reports floated that the Golden State Warriors were legitimate contenders for signing Kevin Durant. The reports were largely ignored at the time but materialized five months later. This past season, LeBron-to-the-Lakers rumors circulated for the entirety of the year. And while the business opportunities in LA may have played a role, the incompetence of LeBron’s supporting cast in Cleveland certainly didn’t help. The Irving-Butler rumors could indeed just be smoke, but should the Celtics really test the extent of Irving’s desire to play with Butler when they could be proactive now?
If the Celtics want to avoid being the next Oklahoma City or Cleveland, they should fulfill their star player’s desire in Boston. The Irving-Butler pairing in Boston is not a fantasy scenario; the Celtics could readily create it if they so wished. Butler recently requested a trade, which the Timberwolves have somewhat actively tried to honor. Meanwhile, Boston arguably has the greatest treasure chest of draft picks and young players in the league.
The two seem natural fits for this trade; however Boston could also pull off the deal without leveraging their future assets. Gordon Hayward could be dangled in a straight swap for Butler provided a third team (hey there, Sacramento) is found to absorb Gorgui Dieng’s contract. For the Timberwolves, their response to this trade offer is a no-brainer: Hayward would be the best player in all their reported trade offers, which have been less than appealing so far. Therefore, this deal ultimately rests on the Celtics’ willingness to part with Hayward.
Similar to Toronto’s motivation to trade for Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler is a better player than Gordon Hayward. Though the disparity is not as wide as the DeRozan-Kawhi swap, Butler is a perennial All-NBA and All-Defensive team player, while Hayward has struggled to crack the All-Star team. This past season, Butler (before tearing his meniscus) drew MVP consideration for leading the Timberwolves to the third best record in the West. Therefore, in the short term, replacing Hayward with Butler would add even more star power to the Celtics and increase their chances of winning a title. In the long term, the Celtics gain an extra sense of security in Irving and Butler likely choosing to stay; it is simply unlikely that Butler and Irving both choose to leave the Celtics in order to play on a team with an inferior supporting cast.
The one downside for the Celtics would be the imminent public relations nightmare that would come from dealing Hayward. After suffering a gruesome leg injury on last season’s opening night, massive anticipation has been built upon his return this year. Moving on from Hayward before he plays again for the Celtics could produce immense fan backlash.
Yet Celtics GM Danny Ainge is no stranger to cold-blooded transactions that he believes to be in the best interest of his team; let’s not forget his robbing of Cleveland in the Isaiah Thomas trade. Ainge ultimately has to decide whether a Hayward trade would lead to too much ire toward the Celtics. But if swapping Hayward for Butler leads to the Celtics retaining Kyrie Irving in the offseason, who’s to say Danny Ainge shouldn’t pull the trigger either way?
Keep up with UNPLUGG’D as we prepare for the 2018–2019 NBA Season!
