Article: Celtics could pursue Jimmy Butler

[BitterJim]

I think what struck me as faulty in the proposal was that if there was any player in Chicago that they'd want to rebuild around, it'd be Butler.  I would think the rest of the roster would be fair game with the thinking either Chicago would load up on young talent and/or picks to try to build around Butler while unloading the higher-paid/injury-riddled vets they have.

The thing is, if Chicago is really going to go into full bore rebuilding Jimmy Butler is the player on the team that would give them the most return and it isn't close.  He is the one guy that virtually every team in the league would want AND provide good value for, which would only increase the return for Chicago.  If Rose, Gasol, Noah, and Gibson are healthy they would draw interest and would provide a solid return (to varying degrees obviously), but Butler could yield them an A+ return.  He is also locked up long term at max money, which isn't necessarily what a rebuilding team would want in an All Star, but not a Super Star (he would be the guy that could get you 5 to 10 wins a year, but not the 15 to 20 you would need to be a real solid team). 

I think the article is silly since he just signed a max contract, but the premise of trading Butler isn't nearly as far fetched as you make it seem.

But why trade Butler to draft someone that COULD be as good as him?  He's still young, so age isn't an issue, and his max will only be ~20% of a $90 million cap (and less if/when the cap gets higher), so money shouldn't really be an issue.  Unless the return was a Wiggins-level prospect or an established young player like DMC, there's no reason to even consider trading Butler

[D.o.s.]

Lot of venom toward a late-July article on here. I think it makes good points:

- Everyone is penciling Chicago in as an eastern conference favorite.
- Rose and Butler didn't play well together.
- Jimmy considered Boston and would like to be the man.
- Noah and Gasol never played well together, both are old.
- Hoiberg is unproven.

Lots could happen with this Bulls team. Is this really that badly written of an article? What was anyone hoping for in reading this?

The crux of the article is "Jimmy Butler is a good player. The Celtics should try and trade for him. Because reasons."

That occupies roughly three sentences, total. Instead of delving into the reasons behind why Butler should be targeted, how he works with the team, anything involving on the court stuff, the author spends 700 words talking about how the Celtics don't have a star (true), what a bad season for Chicago could look like (legitimate) and that Jimmy Butler could maybe change teams.

It is literally 45 minutes of foreplay for a two pump chump's worth of actual insight.

So, after all the groundwork is laid -- which should provide us with a solid foundation to follow the author's hypothetical scenario forward into reasonable plausibility -- we get:

So where does that leave Butler?

I don’t know. We’re obviously on speculation overload here

And that's it.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

This just in: Boston Celtics are interested in every first- or second-tier player who may become available in any year ever.

[Moranis]

I think what struck me as faulty in the proposal was that if there was any player in Chicago that they'd want to rebuild around, it'd be Butler.  I would think the rest of the roster would be fair game with the thinking either Chicago would load up on young talent and/or picks to try to build around Butler while unloading the higher-paid/injury-riddled vets they have.

The thing is, if Chicago is really going to go into full bore rebuilding Jimmy Butler is the player on the team that would give them the most return and it isn't close.  He is the one guy that virtually every team in the league would want AND provide good value for, which would only increase the return for Chicago.  If Rose, Gasol, Noah, and Gibson are healthy they would draw interest and would provide a solid return (to varying degrees obviously), but Butler could yield them an A+ return.  He is also locked up long term at max money, which isn't necessarily what a rebuilding team would want in an All Star, but not a Super Star (he would be the guy that could get you 5 to 10 wins a year, but not the 15 to 20 you would need to be a real solid team). 

I think the article is silly since he just signed a max contract, but the premise of trading Butler isn't nearly as far fetched as you make it seem.

But why trade Butler to draft someone that COULD be as good as him?  He's still young, so age isn't an issue, and his max will only be ~20% of a $90 million cap (and less if/when the cap gets higher), so money shouldn't really be an issue.  Unless the return was a Wiggins-level prospect or an established young player like DMC, there's no reason to even consider trading Butler

Because if you are truly rebuilding you don't keep a guy like Butler who is a good player, but not a franchise player and who likely won't be happy to go into rebuilding and will leave when his contract is up (if he doesn't demand a trade sooner).  If you wait then you seriously hurt the value you can get for him in a trade (it isn't like Butler is or ever will be a franchise player so his value can take a serious hit).  If you go into rebuilding you trade Butler when he has 3 or 4 years left on his contract because that is when his value is at its peak.  Chicago isn't going to get a Kevin Love package, but certainly could get a Jrue Holiday package for Butler, and for a team in rebuilding that is huge.  Couple that with whatever they get for Gasol, Noah, Rose, Gibson, etc. and Chicago could get a number of high value assets very quickly, but Butler is the key there.  I mean Boston would probably offer a package of Bradley, Sullinger, Crowder and multiple 1st round picks.  That is fairly appealing to a rebuilding team.