Welcome to the NBA trade season – Time for Fake News!
Sorry, that’s another story, but if you’ve been watching the Association the last few seasons, you know that few non-events create more speculation and misdirecton (without satisfaction) than the NBA trade deadline. But that’s the world we live in and we’re all just gluttons for punishment.
As fans, we hope that if we just refresh our browsers, maybe, just maybe, we’ll be rewarded when our team trades a bag of jockstraps for Steph Curry. It usually doesn’t happen. But that doesn’t mean we can’t dare to dream. Even if those dreams are irrational or unfounded. Which brings us to the topic du jour — everybody’s favorite trade chip — the Chicago Bulls’ own Jimmy Butler!
Jimmy Buckets….On The Move?
You’ve read the rumors. Heard the rumblings behind-the-scenes: The Bulls are considering trading Jimmy Buckets to the Boston Celtics for Tom Brady’s deflated balls and a six-pack of Guinness. Just ask Adrian Wojnarowski or Bill Simmons.
Really? If a million bloggers blog it, how can it be wrong? And how many Boston blowhards does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Look, I know it’s possible. But if GarPax (the two-headed, toothless monster that allegedly runs the Bulls) trades Butler for anything less than an established star and significant future assets then Chicago fans should run them out of town on a rail.
According to sources, the Bulls are kicking the tires on a trade that centers on one of Boston’s two coveted Brooklyn Net’s picks. One? Are you kidding me? Any serious conversation needs to start with both those picks. Throw in a young starter (not some bag of bones that makes salaries match) and the Bulls should listen. Otherwise it simply makes no sense. (Poor Brooklyn fans, by the way. They land the city’s first franchise since 1957 only to have a Russian Billionaire and his puppet dismantle the organization, driving it into a financial and philosophical ditch. Hmmm).
Here’s a fact: If Boston lands Butler, they are immediately the top threat to the Cavs in the East and legitimate contenders for a championship. They might not win a ring, but they’d be in the conversation for the next 3-5 years, no question.
Headed For The Lottery
But if Chicago trades Jimmy, they’re… what? A lottery team this year (and next), for starters. Might as well dump Wade and Rondo while you’re at it. You think Flash signed on for a long, winding road to the middle? Is that really what Jerry Reinsdorf dreams about as he turns 81 next week? As his beloved White Sox begin a long, slow rebuild? I’m guessing not.
Quick! Who are the top three prospects in this year’s draft? Let’s see… there’s the kid from Washington, right? The teen with an undeveloped body and tons of upside? Or the other kid? From UCLA? You know, with the weird shot and limited athleticism? Hell, those guys just might be starters in a few years!
Uninspiring enough for you? Because that’s who GarPax would be trading for. Don’t kid yourself. As a fan, do you want the Bulls to get worse? I mean a LOT worse? Because that’s what would happen.
We’d be trading Jimmy, a foundational building block — a 3-time All Star, go-to crunch-time scorer and lock-down defender, for what exactly? An untested prospect that just might pan out? You excited to roll the dice on the next Greg Oden? Or Ben Simmons? Or, whoever is next year’s can’t miss, once-in-a-generation talent (that just might miss)? Because the rest will be spare parts and expiring contracts. That you can count on.
Brokenhearted Bulls fans will be depressed and frustrated for years, I promise. After all, how many times can we re-stoke the fires before we throw in the towel?
The only option that makes sense is for the team to build, and rally, around Jimmy.
Why don’t the Bulls see this? The rest of the league does. That’s why so many other teams want him. Jimmy’s a rarity – A blue-collar, two-way player who gives a shit on D, has the skill to create his own shot, and who, by the way, actually tries to make his teammates better.
Are Fans Undervaluing Jimmy?
Tell me this — how many other guys in the league would you take over Butler right now, all things (skill set, age, contract, personality, intangibles) considered? LeBron and Steph? Okay, sure… they’ve both won multiple MVP awards. Durant? Okay, cool, he’s 6’11 and an MVP, too. Harden or Westbrook? Leonard? Sure, you can make all those arguments, but they’re arguments, right? Davis/Giannis/KAT? Big guys with upside are awesome, but I need to see them win a few more games first.
The point is, there’s not many guys in the NBA that are better. And more than any other sport, the NBA is driven by stars. The Bulls have one! Butler’s a top 10/15 player player and has legit marketing muscle. He hangs with newly minted Grammy winner Chance the Rapper and pals around with movie mogul/star Mark Wahlberg. Hell, the Bulls might actually have something of value here!
It makes you wonder, why exactly, instead of dumping an All-Star, they aren’t looking to add another? You’re telling me, with front office support, that Jimmy couldn’t coerce some dissatisfied star from another city to give Chi-town a shake? I’d take that bet.
Surely a more efficient organization could figure out how to turn young players or old contracts into valuable assets, so why can’t the Bulls? Why are they so public in their desire to move the only guy that gives them a chance to win, night after night?
And as fans, why should we trust the brain-dead brain-trust to do what’s best?
Butler Proving He Can Be A Closer
You’re reading this, so, I’m guessing you watch the games, right? Raise your hand if you caught the Celtics game this week? You know, the one where Jimmy single-handedly kept the Bulls in contention? The one where no one but Jimmy or Taj seemed to know where to be on the court or what to do down the stretch? The one where Jimmy sunk two game-saving/clinching free throws as time expired, frozen ice coursing through his veins?
Tell me, how confident were you that he’d hit those shots?
From where I sat, I felt pretty good as Jimmy stepped to the line. I knew he’d make them, just like another Jimmy did.
Didn’t you? Well, pull the trigger on this stinker of a trade and you can kiss that confidence (and the 1954 Indiana State championships!) goodbye.
It’s bad enough having to watch the ghosts of Rose and Thibs punish the Bulls every couple weeks… How bad would you feel having Jimmy return home next season in Celtic green to stick a dagger in some 19-year-old rookie’s heart with the game on the line? A fan base can only take so much before it jumps ship.
