LeBron James isn’t the only NBA player concerned about his general manager’s abrupt dismissal. Jimmy Butler now appears to be completely turned off on a potential move to Cleveland now that David Griffin is out in Cleveland.
Just one day after reporting that Cavaliers players actively encouraged Butler to seek a trade to Cleveland, Joe Cowley says his sources — and the Cavaliers — have reversed course on the move. According to a report published Thursday, Cavaliers players are now telling Butler to avoid a move to Cleveland because of the “chaos” in the Cavaliers front office.
According to a Cleveland source close to the situation, several of the Cavaliers who had been prodding Butler to push for a trade from the Bulls the last five days were now warning him to stay away from a suddenly volatile situation.
With the ouster of Cavaliers general manager David Griffin on Monday, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love could be headed for an unforeseen early breakup.
All of this comes after Butler went from not wanting to be traded to possibly encouraging his movement despite being on vacation in Europe. In fact, according to reports, a Butler trade seemed to be pretty close to happening until Griffin was fired.
Cowley’s report says that while Butler could still be traded, Cleveland was the only destination that actually intrigued him. If that means the Bulls are out of options, Dwyane Wade exercising his player option to remain in Chicago might suddenly make a lot more sense. Instead of playing for a rebuilding team, Chicago would stay in place and essentially push pause on a potential rebuild.
