Breaking: Philadelphia trades for Jimmy Butler

Minnesota has agreed to a deal to send Jimmy Butler to Philadelphia for a package that includes Robert Covington and Dario Saric, league sources tell @ZachLowe_NBA and me.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 10, 2018

Sources: Philadelphia's Jerryd Bayless has also been traded to Minnesota as part of Jimmy Butler deal. Covington/Saric/Bayless/2022 2nd for Butler and Patton. https://t.co/qSvFzjG5BU

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 10, 2018

This is an interesting deal that makes Philadelphia’s starting unit a lot better with a big-3 of Butler, Ben Simmons, and Joel Embiid.

It does take away a little bit of their depth as Dario Saric and Robert Covington were important pieces for Philadelphia, but they have to give something up to get something back.

Jimmy Butler and the Sixers fully expect to reach a deal on a long-term contract this summer, league sources tell ESPN. Sixers made deal with plans to add Butler to a Big Three with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 10, 2018

Now we wait to see how he fits. Embiid and Simmons have been the established stars on this team, but Butler tends to dominate franchises so it will be interesting to see how they feel taking a back seat to Butler. On the court, they should compliment each other pretty well, but will Butler get into their heads like he did Karl Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins.

This adds another obstacle for the Boston Celtics as they struggle to find their footing in the East. Toronto is off to a torrid start, Milwaukee is right on their heels, and the Sixers have now just pulled off a blockbuster trade to add a star.

If this isn’t a smack in the face for whichever Celtics have been taking things a little too casually, then nothing will be and we will have greatly misjudged this team. Jaylen Brown basically admitted the lack of hunger in some guys. We’ve seen it a lot over the beginning of the season, and while there’s still time to turn it around, it’s starting to feel like there isn’t much urgency in the locker room.

This should be as much of a wake-up call as any loss. Butler is now in the Atlantic Division, and the Celtics road to the Finals just got a bit more difficult. It’s time to stop messing around and start putting things together.