The Jimmy Butler era in Philadelphia will begin on Wednesday night, when the All-Star wing will suit up for the Sixers for the first time when the team travels to take on the Orlando Magic. The length of Butler’s time with the 76ers is still to be determined, because while both sides reportedly want to ink a long-term deal, as we saw in Chicago and Minnesota, anything can happen with Jimmy G. Buckets.
But for now, there’s optimism abound in the City of Brotherly Love, as the team finally added a third superstar to Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. It turns out we’ll get to see how the trio meshes right away, as Butler will be inserted into the starting lineup against the Magic.
Brett Brown just confirmed this. https://t.co/TNOLuZ5YKC
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) November 14, 2018
Two of these lineup changes are a direct result of vacancies created by moving Robert Covington and Dario Saric. Butler slides into the small forward role that Covington filled for years, while Chandler (who is still working his way back to being 100 percent after missing the first nine games of the season due to an injury) fills in for Saric.
The third alteration — and perhaps the most fascinating one — is the only straight-up change in the starting lineup, as Redick will be re-inserted into the group while Markelle Fultz will come off the bench. Redick started 70 games for Philadelphia last year, but has come off the bench in 13 of the 15 games he has played so far this season. He was moved to the bench to facilitate Fultz starting, and while Fultz has started all 15 games the team has played this year, the results have not been particularly encouraging.
Getting Redick into the lineup makes a ton of sense even if you ignore what’s been up with Fultz, as he brings much-needed floor spacing to the Simmons-Butler-Chandler-Embiid grouping. And who knows? Perhaps moving to the bench will give Fultz (of whom Butler is a fan) a chance to get into a rhythm and become a positive contributor for Philadelphia as the season moves forward.
