Unless Tom Thibodeau plugs his fingers in his ears and goes “la la la la la” for the next few months, Jimmy Butler is going to be on a new NBA team sometime soon. As for where he’s going, well, that’s still up in the air — Butler reportedly wants to head to the Clippers, Knicks, or Nets, but his top priority is finding a way to go to Los Angeles.
Here’s the thing: The Timberwolves don’t have to do this. Butler has no provisions in his contract that would give him the leverage to say “this doesn’t work for me,” meaning Minnesota can do whatever this wants. (Perhaps this is why reports keep coming out about Butler’s desire to play on the Clippers above everywhere else, but I digress.)
This got us wondering what would happen if every NBA team got their brain trusts together to weigh a potential move for Butler. It’s not every day that a player of his caliber hits the trade market, and in one way or another, every team can benefit from adding him to their rosters. However, basketball is a land of contrasts, so there are also a whole lot of reasons that teams shouldn’t go for broke and try to bring in a 29-year-old on the final year of their contract and a whole lot of miles on their wheels.
We decided to go through every NBA team — save for the Timberwolves, of course — and determined the pros and cons of them making a move for Butler. Some teams would become title contenders, some would accelerate rebuilds, and some would just acquire Butler with the hopes of getting a head start on free agency next summer.
Atlanta Hawks
PRO: Butler would immediately give the Hawks a leader and an alpha dog, and pairing him with Trae Young would accelerate the timetable that Atlanta finds itself on with its current rebuild.
CON: The Hawks seem like they’re committed to a rebuild based around the ability to stretch the floor, a la Golden State. Butler wouldn’t really fit into either of those criteria.
Boston Celtics
PRO: Putting Butler, Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, and whatever combination of Gordon Hayward and young players (whomever doesn’t get traded among Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier, Marcus Smart, and Jayson Tatum) on the floor makes Boston the favorite to win the East.
CON: Can Butler be a No. 1 option in Boston, which he wants? And do the Celtics want to risk losing both Butler and Irving next offseason? The answer to both is probably yes, to one extent or another, but it’s worth asking.
Brooklyn Nets
PRO: Butler wants to go there, and it’s not like the Nets are expected to do much this year. Get him, let him fall in love with Brooklyn, and when the clock hits midnight on July 1, 2019, have him put pen to paper on an extension.
CON: If the Nets have a shot at Butler next summer, why make a move for him now? Why not show this season why he should come to Brooklyn then put on the full-court press for himself and Kyrie Irving?
Charlotte Hornets
PRO: I had not considered how much fun a Kemba Walker-Jimmy Butler pairing would be until right now, and my goodness, that would be a blast. Charlotte needs some type of shot in the arm, whether it’s swinging for the fences or pressing the reset button. Butler gives them the former.
CON: Remember the “do the Celtics want to risk losing both Butler and Irving next offseason?” That, but with Butler and Walker. Only Boston could survive losing both of those dudes, while Charlotte would be stuck in the NBA wilderness.
Chicago Bulls
PRO: Pairing Butler with Chicago’s young core would make the Bulls a gigantic pain in the neck. I am going to stop acting like this will ever happen, though.
CON: Jimmy Butler is not going back to Chicago.
Cleveland Cavaliers
PRO: The Cavs get an alpha dog now that LeBron James is gone. Depending on what they give up, Butler can be the piece that pushes them from a fringe playoff team to a contender to be a top-4 seed in the East.
CON: Getting burned in free agency two summers in a row like this would be brutal. Also, if the Cavs make a trade, it’d presumably be to offload veteran players as part of a youth movement, not bring anyone in.
Dallas Mavericks
PRO: Partnering Butler with Dennis Smith Jr. and Luka Doncic would be fuuuuuuuuuuuuun. I don’t know if that team can compete for a title, but with Dirk Nowitzki’s career winding down, why not go for it?
CON: I assume they wouldn’t give up Smith or Doncic, but you never know. Also, would Dallas make a move that makes them really good, but still a step or two behind Golden State and Houston?
Denver Nuggets
PRO: I’m higher on Denver this season than most, and getting Butler on the Nuggets would certainly help the cause. He gives a team with a whole lot of really good players a superstar, even if it costs them a young player like Gary Harris.
CON: The Nuggets might not believe in the concept of defense, which probably wouldn’t fly with Butler.
Detroit Pistons
PRO: Detroit has treaded water for so long, and getting Butler would be a step in the right direction as it tries to re-establish itself among the Eastern Conference’s elite.
CON: I said the same thing about trading for Blake Griffin and that didn’t exactly work out. Plus, there would be major questions about how a Butler-Griffin-Andre Drummond group would work, especially when it would come to floor spacing.
Golden State Warriors
PRO: Do we have to do this?
CON: Something like this would almost certainly cost Golden State Klay Thompson. Ergo, no.
Houston Rockets
PRO: Butler fills Houston’s biggest need, someone who can defend the opposing team’s best player on the perimeter. Daryl Morey is obsessed with beating the Warriors, is he obsessed enough to try and pull this off?
CON: He’d unquestionably be a rental and isn’t much of a shooter from deep. Also, Eric Gordon and Nene for Butler (or something like that) likely wouldn’t move the needle in Minnesota … right?
Indiana Pacers
PRO: Oh man, would a Butler-Victor Oladipo duo be fun as all hell. The Pacers are expected to make some noise in the East, and adding Butler would let them do that, especially because they’re projected to have a ton of cap space next summer.
CON: Butler wants to go to a big market and Indiana isn’t exactly that. Plus it’s worth wondering if Butler, Oladipo, and the remainder of this roster is a conference title contender or merely just really, really good.
Los Angeles Clippers
PRO: Butler’s determined to end up there. The Clippers look like a team that has a ton of role players, but lacks the guy who can bring it all together. Butler can do that.
CON: Same as Brooklyn, only magnified — why on earth would the Clippers give up anything if he’s determined to come to Los Angeles? The risk of getting put in that “Paul George wants to be a Laker” situation exists, but it might be wise to be prudent.
Los Angeles Lakers
PRO: Putting Butler on the floor with LeBron James would be extremely fun, and seeing as how everyone agrees the Lakers need to put another star next to James, this is a move that would make some sense.
CON: Butler apparently doesn’t want this, and the Lakers have been hesitant to part with their young players when other players have hit the market this summer. Also: The last time he was on the same team as Rajon Rondo and a bunch of young dudes, things went south in a hurry.
Memphis Grizzlies
PRO: If the Grizzlies want to get back to being one of the consistently very good teams in the West, this would be one hell of a way to do it. Butler would fit right into the Grit and Grind mentality of the squad,
CON: Memphis wouldn’t become a title contender by adding Butler, nor would it be a smart move financially unless they can somehow convince the Timberwolves to take back Chandler Parsons’ contract. Plus do you really want to bank on an older core of Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, and Butler?
Miami Heat
PRO: Pairing Butler and Dwyane Wade during the latter’s final season would be nice, I suppose. Plus the Heat are perpetually confident about convincing free agents to join them, so using this year to convince Butler to stick around and be the next face of the franchise just might work.
CON: Questions about whether the Heat have anyone Minnesota would want aside, how would Butler feel about not getting invited to Wade family BBQs?
Milwaukee Bucks
PRO: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Butler, and (assuming he wouldn’t get traded in this scenario) Khris Middleton is a trio that can take it to just about any opponent. Milwaukee might not win the East with this duo/trio, but they’d certainly become a threat.
CON: Pairing Antetokounmpo with another not great shooter would be brutal for spacing. Plus with Giannis established as the man in Milwaukee, would Butler stick around?
New Orleans Pelicans
PRO: Jrue Holiday, Jimmy Butler, and Anthony Davis might be my favorite hypothetical result of this exercise. At the very least, no one would want to play the Pelicans in the postseason, and if it all works out, the sky is the limit for this team.
CON: New Orleans is another “would they want to risk Butler being a rental?” squad, especially after what just happened with DeMarcus Cousins.
New York Knicks
PRO: Butler would certainly bring the star power New York so badly wants, especially if Kristaps Porzingis can’t return this season from a knee injury. If he can, though, Butler and Porzingis might be a duo of the future (or two-thirds of a trio of the future) in the Big Apple.
CON: The Knicks have made it clear that they have no interest in offloading assets for someone who they believe they can make a push to sign in free agency, which makes this a bit of a non-starter.
Oklahoma City Thunder
PRO: I have zero idea how the Thunder would do this, but putting Butler on the floor with Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Steven Adams would be a nightmare for opposing teams. That is a team that would have title aspirations.
CON: Again, no idea how Oklahoma City pulls this off unless Minnesota really likes Dennis Schröder. Plus Butler would certainly be gone after the season, which might be worth it if it means the Thunder finally win a ring, but who knows.
Orlando Magic
PRO: I was a college sophomore the last time the Magic made the postseason. That year, they won 37 games in a lockout-shortened season. They have failed to win that many games in any of the full seasons since. So yeah, you gotta go for it some time, Orlando. Now might be the time.
CON: The Magic seem hell-bent on loading up on athletic dudes whose ability to stretch the floor leaves a lot to be desired. Butler would bring some much-needed star power, but he’d be a weird fit on this roster. Plus would Orlando — which has played the long game for so long — give up young players for one year of someone just to break their playoff drought?
Philadelphia 76ers
PRO: Ben Simmons, JJ Redick, Butler, whoever doesn’t get traded in this hypothetical deal among Robert Covington and Dario Saric, and Joel Embiid is terrifying. The Sixers are star hunting, and would become another team that could win the Eastern Conference by adding Butler into the fold.
CON: Is a potential rental on a 29-year-old Butler worth getting rid of the assets that have made Philly a contender to strike whenever a star hits the trade market? You can make a case either way, which leads me to say no, because the Sixers would likely want a little more assurance if it means swinging for the fences.
Phoenix Suns
PRO: Phoenix has suddenly become an aggressive team this summer, adding Ryan Anderson and Trevor Ariza to their generally young core. Adding Butler would give them a superstar and, perhaps, make them a threat to push for a playoff spot in the loaded Western Conference.
CON: Please get a point guard before you do anything else, Phoenix. Also, how would he fit on a team that has Devin Booker and Josh Jackson?
Portland Trail Blazers
PRO: Everything written about the Blazers this summer has been that they need to do something, and adding Butler would certainly be that. He’d be a great fit next to Damian Lillard and, assuming he wouldn’t get moved in a deal (which I would not bank on), C.J. McCollum.
CON: You’d have to imagine Minnesota would want McCollum back, right? Is getting a player who can bolt after this summer, especially when the Blazers’ cap sheet gets more palatable the following year, really a smart move?
Sacramento Kings
PRO: Remember the “you gotta go for it some time, Orlando” thing? The Kings have not made the playoffs since 2005-06. So, yeah, this might be a chance to break that, Sacramento.
CON: It might be a chance to break their playoff drought, but it certainly would not be a guarantee. Sacramento is starting to get some interesting young talent on board, is it worth potentially blowing that up to become 1-3 steps closer to the postseason when you’re 10 steps away?
San Antonio Spurs
PRO: This would be a fun way to get past the sting of losing Kawhi Leonard. DeMar DeRozan and Butler would be a touch repetitive, but between those two, LaMarcus Aldridge, and whatever Gregg Popovich could cook up, San Antonio would become one tough out in the Western Conference.
CON: Making a trade for a potential rental in Butler is an extremely un-Spurs decision. Add in the weird fit with DeRozan, and I think we can cross this one off the list.
Toronto Raptors
PRO: Can you imagine Kawhi and Butler manning dudes up? Like Boston and Philly, if Toronto could pull this off, they’d be the favorite in the East.
CON: Masai Ujiri already has to convince one star to stick around once this offseason rolls around. Doing that with two guys at the same time would be quite the risk. The difference between Leonard and Butler, however, is it stands to reason that getting the latter would require giving up more young players than Jakob Poeltl.
Utah Jazz
PRO: Butler would be a fascinating fit on a Jazz team that hangs its hat on shutting opponents down on the defensive end of the floor. Throw him next to Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert and the Jazz suddenly might be a contender to make a run in the Western Conference.
CON: Would Utah want to potentially stunt Mitchell’s ascent to superstardom by pairing him with a player like Butler? Would Butler want to stay in Salt Lake City when the season ends?
Washington Wizards
PRO: Washington is perpetually a team that could stand to shake something up. John Wall wouldn’t go anywhere, and it’s safe to assume Bradley Beal wouldn’t either, so it might be worth kicking the tires on whether they can turn Otto Porter or Kelly Oubre into Butler.
CON: Adding Butler’s fiery personality to a Wizards locker room that perpetually seems on edge might be a bad decision. Plus he’d almost certainly be a rental — between Washington’s brutal cap sheet (even if this sort of deal might cost them Porter) and the fact that they have more than $140 million dedicated to a 28 year old with injury issues in Wall, would they even want to keep Butler around longterm?
