Boston Should Cash Out, Acquire Chicago’s Jimmy Butler

If the Chicago Bulls are truly entertaining trade offers for Jimmy Butler, the Boston Celtics would be wise to appease them.

Boston clearly lacked interest in adding DeMarcus Cousins, even for 25 cents on the dollar. Apparently Danny Ainge prefers to wait things out until the NBA Draft. That or he simply prefers to acquire Chicago’s Jimmy Butler, who unlike Paul George, might actually be attainable via trade. With all due respect to the Philadelphia 76ers, Magic Johnson-led Lakers, and everyone else in the NBA, this potential deal between the Celtics and Bulls will be the leading storyline heading into Thursday’s trade deadline. Will lightning strike the basketball world twice?

Of course, Ainge has proven he is willing to play the long game, and maybe that’s the best way to do it. But I believe Boston should go for it right now while Isaiah Thomas (28) and Al Horford (30) are still in their primes. For as good as guys like Markelle Fultz, Luka Doncic, and [insert your favorite prospect] may eventually become, the timelines likely won’t match up with Isaiah and Al as well as Jimmy, who turns 28 in September. It also won’t be easy for the Bulls to build something substantial between now and the summer of 2019 when Butler can (and probably will) opt out of his current contract. Time is of the essence for everyone involved.

Daniel Coughlin of Pippen Ain’t Easy (and TLM) has long argued that the Bulls should blow things up, trade Jimmy Butler, and embrace the reset – though not for cheap. He even recently offered a how-to-guide.

“It will cost the Celtics…they’ll have to splash it out. Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown and the 2017 Brooklyn Nets unprotected pick have to come over in the deal. Even at that trade, Boston is still winning because they get their guy who can put them in the same conversation with the Cavs as best in the East. Without him, they remain just another also ran.”

This is the type of bounty a top-10 player like Jimmy Butler should net. However, I wonder whether the Celtics and Bulls would prefer a slightly different route that further facilitates Boston going all in right now and Chicago focusing on the future.

Avery Bradley turns 27 in November, and while Chicago would be smart to ask for Smart, Boston has grown quite attached to the 22-year-old Tasmanian defensive devil. Would the Bulls and Celtics both more happily accept something along the lines of Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier, Tyler Zeller, and Brooklyn’s 2017 and 2018 first round picks for Jimmy Butler? Brown and Rozier isn’t bad at all in terms of tangible return, and then there’s two top-4 selections unless the Nets avoid another last-placed finish next season. I can’t imagine anyone else being able to put together an offer this intriguing. Who says no here?

Chicago already has a good bit of young talent (D.J. Valentine, Jerian Grant, Cristiano Felicio, Paul Zipser, Bobby Portis) that needs time to develop – both so the Bulls can figure out what they’ve already got and so that those players have the chance to blossom going forward. If the Chicago Bulls are going to surrender a superstar like Jimmy Butler, perhaps they should fully embrace the tank and take aim at player development and the next two drafts as their main avenues toward eventual contention.

Over in Boston, coach Brad Stevens would have more lineup options and depth than he’d know what to do with. There is one school of thought that says depth is less important in the playoffs because coaches can ride their starters for longer (especially since there aren’t any back-to-backs). However, a seven-game series and the playoffs in general is still grueling, injuries common, and so an opposing line of thinking suggests you’re only as good as your bench (#strengthinnumbers). The Celtics could conceivably compete with the Cavaliers by going nine or 10 players deep with Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Jimmy Butler, Jae Crowder, Al Hordord, Marcus Smart, Amir Johnson, Kelly Olynyk, Jonas Jerebko, and Gerald Green.

Stevens would have as many options as a single supermodel who loves sports. Brad could move Bradley to the bench and roll out a balanced starting lineup of Thomas, Butler, Crowder, Horford, and Johnson. He could run devastating defensive lineups with Smart in place of Thomas, offensive-minded units with Olynyk in place of Johnson, small-ball groups with Horford, Crowder, and Butler alongside two guards (Thomas, Bradley, or Smart). There’s no guarantee that this would be enough to defeat the Cavaliers and Warriors, but it might be worth a shot. Ainge is playing with the house’s money already thanks to the Brooklyn Nets. Is he willing to cash in his chips for a chance to get lucky sooner rather than later? And are the Bulls be eager to bite?