Trade Talk: Jimmy Butler Is The Answer For Celtics
By Liam O'Brien
As the Boston Celtics look to bolster their repertoire and become contenders in the Eastern Conference, a plethora of questions surround what direction the team should take in building a squad capable of lifting banner No. 18 into the TD Garden rafters.
General manager Danny Ainge must first attempt to answer to this question by looking to acquire shooting guard Jimmy Butler in a trade with the Chicago Bulls.
An All-Star in consecutive seasons, Butler represents the complete package as a No. 2 guard, garnering props from many as being one of the most dynamic two-way players in the NBA today.
The 30th selection in the 2011 NBA Draft by the scuffling Bulls, Butler is a force to be reckoned with on both sides of the ball and would fit perfectly into the offensive system of Celtics head coach Brad Stevens, giving Boston a second viable scoring option outside of point guard Isaiah Thomas.
First, let’s examine Butler’s vastly improved offensive game. After posting just 13.1 points per game in his third season in the league in 2013-14, the 2015 Most Improved Player posted a career-high in scoring in 2015-16, leading Chicago with 20.9 points per game while shooting at a respectable 45.4% clip from the field in an overwhelming 36.9 minutes per game.
He exploded for 53 points on an impressive 15-30 shooting performance in a narrow January 14 win over the Philadelphia 76ers while putting up 24.9 points per game in the month of January, a stretch in which the Bulls enjoyed an 8-7 showing.
Butler also exemplified increases in his court vision in 2015-16, putting up a team-high 4.8 assists per game, by far the highest mark of his career, while dishing out 10+ dimes on three separate occasions in the month of April alone as defenses began to focus more on limiting his scoring potential.
Offense aside, what would make Butler fit seamlessly into the Celtics rotation is his defensive presence. The Marquette product is an absolute stalwart on the defensive side of the ball, having earned All-Defensive 2nd Team honors for three consecutive seasons while possessing the ability to utilize his lengthy 6’7″, 220-pound frame to shut down the opposition’s best defender.
Overall, Butler’s value to the Bulls in 2015-16 was unmistakable, as he cracked the top 20 in the NBA in overall offensive rating (115.5), offensive win shares (6.5), win shares (9.1), win shares per 48 minutes (.177), and value over replacement player (3.7).
If Butler could just improve his three-point range, as he shot a horrid 31% from deep last season which was a steep drop from his 38% mark in 2014-15, he could become a bona fide All-Star starter in the NBA for years to come.
This makes the fact that he has four years remaining on the five-year, $95 million deal he inked with Chicago last summer quite the attraction, as this contract will be considered a steal with the salary cap increasing in coming seasons and Butler’s value being extensive.
Furthermore, the acquisition of Butler could open the door for free agents Kevin Durant or Al Horford to be intrigued by the Celtics sales pitch come the free agency period, as this could allow Boston to build a three-headed monster similar to the glory days of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett.
With the favorability of Butler’s current deal and the Celtics’ expansive cap room, the team could afford to offer either Durant or Horford a maximum contract, assuming they balk on the opportunity to re-sign free agents Evan Turner (who is unlikely to be included in Boston’s long-term plans should they add Butler) and Jared Sullinger.
While trading for Butler would require the Celtics to relinquish their control over the No. 3 and No. 16 selections in the upcoming draft, according to Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale, the cost for Butler would not be outrageous.
Although it would likely involve the team giving up Avery Bradley, who was recently named to the All-NBA Defensive First Team for good reason, Butler is an overwhelmingly more consistent offensive weapon than the Texas product and represents similar ferocity on the defensive side of the ball as well.
Moving Bradley would simply usher Marcus Smart into the role of sixth man, filling in the absence of one defensive stopper for another.
The one drawback in the proposition that Favale reported is trading away 2015 first-rounder Terry Rozier, who impressed in limited action in the playoffs this past April with fantastic defense and is developing an outside stroke day by day.
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However, to acquire a potential superstar such as Butler, Ainge would be content with handing over Rozier to a Bulls team which could be looking to rebuild around draft picks and young talent this coming offseason.