A Few Thoughts on the Jimmy Butler Trade

Jimmy Butler finally got what he wanted. He is no longer on the Timberwolves. He got out. All his whining and griping and bitching and moaning and poor attitude and disgusting behavior paid off. He is not on the team that he seemed like he would finish his career with after leaving the Bulls. Now, he has destroyed 2 locker rooms and he is on to his third.

First things first, I do not think Jimmy Butler is the type of player that can act like this. While I do think he is one of the better 2 way players in the league, he is not the type of player that can yell and demean his teammates and demand a trade and expect a big time contract. He is 29. I know that is not old, but in basketball years, with the amount of time he plays in games, and the playoff games he has been too, that is pretty old. He also has a history of lower body injuries. He seems to get hurt quite a bit. He also complains when teammates don't play or practice to his "level". He is also a mediocre shooter. Yes, he can create shots and get to the rim, but as a floor spacer, I don't buy it.

Second, the way he has conducted himself for the past 2 years is loathsome. As I said, while he is a great player, he is not as good as he thinks. He is not LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis or Giannis Antentokoumpo, just to name a few. Those guys are upper echelon players. Those dudes can come to a team and easily make them a contender. Those guys can demand trades and find a way out if they see that the current team they are on is not going anywhere. Jimmy Butler, to me, lands more in the Blake Griffin, Carmelo Anthony, Andrew Wiggins, Rajon Rondo category. While great, he isn't a top tier player, although he acts like it. Jimmy Butler, as a basketball player, I like. That's it, just like. As a person, I cannot stand what he has become. He is entitled. He thinks too highly of himself. He is more about money than titles. It is obvious.

Now, for how I see this as simply a basketball trade, I am not convinced. I liked the young core the 76ers had. I actually thought that "The Process" was working out. They seemed ahead of schedule. With this trade, they got to keep the important components, but they traded away 2 great locker room guys. Everyone seemed to like Robert Covington's work ethic and his fit on the team. From what I have heard, Dario Saric was the funniest guy on the team and he cheered everyone up when he showed up to practice. The other 2 guys in the trade, Jerryd Bayless and a 2022 second round pick are of no consequence to me. The 76ers got a young big man, Justin Patton and, of course, Jimmy Butler. Patton won't play much. Butler is going to be a starter. He is going to be a focal point of that offense and the go to defensive guy. He will guard the other team's best player every night he plays. He will also be the creator on the offense for the team. He does make the 76ers a top 3 team in the East right away. But, does this trade make the 76ers better than the Bucks, Raptors or Celtics? Maybe just the Celtics. The Raptors have a much better version of Jimmy Butler in Kawhi and the Bucks have Giannis.

As far as being a teammate, this is going to be a disaster for a 76ers franchise that was on the come up. Jimmy Butler will think he runs the team, but this is Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid's team. That is not even up for debate. I'd go so far as to say that this is Embiid's team, and Simmons is the second most important player. They are the 76ers. They have built this team around those 2 guys strengths. They have added the players they deem best to suit Embiid and Simmons games. Guys like JJ Redick give them the shooting they need. He is the only shooter they have, but he is a solid shooter and a bad defender. They have some young talent, specifically Landry Shamet, that will grow into his role as the future point guard of the team. TJ McConnell is the energy guy they need. And then we have Markelle Fultz. This trade is going to destroy Fultz's already shaky game. He has been an absolute disaster as a NBA player. While I had hope that he could get out of this funk, he has seemingly gotten worse. Take his free throw shot from last night, where he pumped faked. I fully, fully believe that he was thinking about Jimmy Butler during that shot. He knows that Butler is going to give him the business if he shoots like that in practice. We have all seen what Butler is capable of doing when he is mad at players on his current team. He will demean and yell at them, and then make it public knowledge. He will make sure he dominates them as well. Fultz is not going to be able to handle this. Guys like Simmons and Embiid will be able to, not only take his shit, they will be able to give it back ten fold, especially Embiid. Redick won't stand for his nonsense, he is a veteran, and he has played with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. Shamet has his head on straight, and anything Butler says will just roll off of him. But Fultz is going to crack. He looks so out of sorts, the last thing he needs is a guy like Butler publicly calling him out in practice and games. It would be in his and the 76ers best intentions to trade him immediately, but I don't think anyone else wants him. Again, look at his free throw attempt from the other night. This dude has issues, and Jimmy Butler will only make it worse for him.

While this trade makes the 76ers better right now, I am not a fan of it. And just when I was started to get into this team they do this. The Timberwolves, the other team in this trade, if they fire Tom Thibodeau, this may benefit them. Wiggins and KAT don't have to worry about Butler's bull shit. The guards will get to play freely. Saric and Covington are solid NBA players that can play. And Josh Okogie looks like a real point guard. When/if they get a new coach, the Timberwolves could be the West's version of the Pacers.

In the end Jimmy Butler got his wish, but it comes at a big time cost. For the 76ers case, I hope they win or are able to resign him. Also, I hope they trade Fultz for his case. I'm not a fan of this trade because I do not think Jimmy Butler is top notch, build your team around style player. The 76ers should have stuck with what they were doing. That is my take.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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