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Is A Jimmy Butler Trade Unnecessary Due To Isaiah Thomas’ Growth?

By Liam O'Brien

Feb 16, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Jimmy Butler (21) drives on Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) during the second half at the United Center. Chicago won 104-103. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 16, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Jimmy Butler (21) drives on Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) during the second half at the United Center. Chicago won 104-103. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /
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According to Bleacher Report, Isaiah Thomas rise to stardom has caused the Celtics to garner reservations about trading for Bulls guard Jimmy Butler, and rightfully so.

As we approach Thursday afternoon’s trade deadline, the rumor mill is swirling at an unparalleled rate. One second, it appears as if the Chicago Bulls have pulled shooting guard Jimmy Butler completely off of the trade market. The next, reports fly essentially implying that a trade is imminent.

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Despite the need to sort through the mess of Tweets and articles on the matter, Boston Celtics fans can be confident that the team’s future will not be mortgaged in a ploy to acquire Butler for one reason: Isaiah Thomas.

Around the time of last summer’s NBA Draft, many Celtics fans were convinced that a trade for Butler needed to be made, convinced that Thomas was unable to carry a squad on his own. A plethora of supporters considered a trade which would have send the 2016 first-round selection, the rights to the Brooklyn Nets pick in 2017, and a piece such as small forward Jae Crowder to be the ideal fix for Boston’s puzzling situation.

The pleas for Butler were certainly justified. The three-time All-Defensive Team nominee was coming off of his second All-Star campaign, one in which he posted 24.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.8 steals per 36 minutes while garnering a 56.2 percent true shooting percentage.

Although Isaiah Thomas had earned his first All-Star nod while posting 24.9 points and 6.2 assists per 36 minutes last season, he struggled mightily shooting-wise against the Atlanta Hawks in the postseason. Despite shouldering the load in each of the Celtics two wins in the series, Thomas’ performance backed critics who bashed the 5’9″ point guard for being unable to lead a team to a playoff series victory. He shot just 39.5 percent from the field and an abysmal 28.3 percent from three-point range, simply incapable of mustering the marksmanship needed to dethrone the Hawks.

This season, however, Thomas has flipped the script, averaging an unthinkable 29.9 points per game in the process of upping his shooting percentages to 46.7 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from three-point land. Those who contested Thomas’ ability to carry the team to tightly-contested wins in the fourth quarter have been forced to eat their words, as the minuscule volume scorer has morphed into the “King In The Fourth.” Thomas has posted 5.2 clutch points per game this season, the second-highest mark in the NBA while averaging a scintillating 10.7 points per game in the final quarter, an astounding 1.3 points ahead of the second-best scorer in the final 12 minutes, Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook.

In the fourth, Thomas’ below-the-rim game soars to new heights. He shoots 48.7 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from long range while hitting 91.1 percent of his free throw attempts. His average of 0.6 turnovers in the final frame is the lowest among players averaging at least 7.8 points per fourth quarter.

Now, Butler is not too far behind, averaging 7.0 points in the fourth quarter while posting just 0.4 turnovers in the final 12 minutes. The issue is whether or not the two could co-exist as Thomas has asserted himself as the alpha dog on this squad and among fourth-quarter scorers. Each are ball-dominant, with Thomas’ usage rate of 34.2 percent barely edging out Butler’s rate of 27.2 percent, commanding that the rock be solely in their possession as the game winds down.

These are not two players that can run the pick-and-roll off of each other. In the final minutes of contests, each of these players thrives off of being able to create looks for themselves, beating their defenders off of one-on-one penetration or by finding space for their jumpers by using a dribble move.

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Last season, when Thomas averaged “just” 5.9 points per fourth quarter while Butler posted 5.7 on average, the Celtics brass had the motivation to seek a deal to make Butler the offensive face of the squad. Thomas’ emergence has since quieted this need to forgo potentially lucrative draft positioning for a player such as Butler.