Jimmy Butler

The meeting with Thib is supposed to take place today in LA.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/24690557/jimmy-butler-tom-thibodeau-meeting-expected-set-tone-2018-19-minnesota-timberwolves-season

Butler had a really good year in MN.  He is still unhappy.  His relationship with Towns and Wiggins is not good.  Speculation regarding his free agency at the end of this season has connected him with the Knicks.  But he now lives in LA.  According to reports he has not demanded a trade but since he is a FA next year there is no guarantee that he will resign with the Twolves.  

The Twolves have talent but not enough to compete for a title in the West.  This is a team that has had more than enough opportunities to build a winner.  They traded away Levine and Dunn as well as the rights to Lauri Markkanen for Butler.  But let's go back further.  In 2009 they went on a point guard binge drafting Rubio, Flynn and Lawson, all first rounders.  Okay 2009 is too far back.  But you get my point?

Butler for all his talent is nothing more than a big crybaby.  He bitched and moaned his way out of Chicago and he is doing the same thing again in Minnesota.  He is not an elite player except in his own mind but for the Knicks he would be a significant upgrade.

Which brings me to Kyrie Irving and the persistent rumors and made up stories that he wants to play with Butler and therefore the two of them could join the Knicks after the season.  

Butler yearns for that illusive title but he has to be on a team that can get there.  He will not find it with the Wolves anytime soon so maybe a NY move is interesting for him.  The Knicks are slowly adding talent through the draft but they have not landed a big time FA in a long time.    The Knicks will not be able to take the next big step without adding a quality FA and or making a trade for one.  

Back to Kyrie.  As we know there are never any absolutes in this business but I have never seen the Celtics lose a star player to FA.  Kyrie is one quirky guy  but he has already tasted success.  His current team is well positioned right now to contend well into the future.  The attention bestowed on NYK teams while playing in Madison Square Gardens has not produced a championship team in 45 years.  Kyrie is in an ideal spot to win now and into the future and get paid.  That spot is certainly not in NY with or without the Jimmy Butlers of the world.   And I can assure you that Boston will not be making a trade to bring Butler to Boston.  

I have a lot of friends from NY that are devote Knicks fans.  They are as persistent in their optimism and resolute in their support as any fan base I know of.  But my message to them is to take your hand out of my pocket.  Stop blogging fake narratives.  You are not slick enough to steal away our stars.

I am a long time Celtics fan and follow the rest of the league as it relates to the Celtics. Obviously, Butler has never played for Boston so I do not know much about him, but there has to be some reason why Ainge has never pulled the trigger on acquiring this guy even though he is at least a pretty good player.

This article that dboss posted may say it all about Butler: cry baby, never happy, not a truly elite player. With our two young wings plus Hayward returning, there really is no great need to either trade for or pay Mr. Butler even if he is a friend of Kyrie Irving.

I think Butler is a top NBA player and did promote Danny trading for him a few years back (before drafting Tatum and signing Hayward).

I don't think he is a "cry baby" , in fact he EXPECTS the players he plays with to play on both sides of the ball and "do their jobs". Something MOST NE sports fans seem to love.

but he'll be elsewhere soon enough (likely NY or Brooklyn) and he and Irving are supposedly good friends. We'll see how it all plays out but frankly I think Danny has set himself up very well if Irving stays or if he goes.

KDP59

Expecting your teammates to play a certain way is fine but alienating them is another especially when you do it in public like he did up in Chicago and like he is doing again in Minnesota.  I am a firm believer that if you see yourself as a leader of a team you should not throw shade on your teammates through the press and your twitter account. The message should always be we and not them.

Towns and Wiggins are young players that are still developing and there is nothing wrong with a veteran like Butler criticizing them but it serves no good outcome to  humiliate them.  Wiggins re-uped last year but  KAT has not signed the extension that was offered him.  You can build a championship team around KAT but you damn sure would not build it around Butler.

His bitching and moaning may very well push KAT not to resign with the team.  If he leaves for NY or elsewhere Sota would have parted with assets to acquire Butler with not much return.

Too much drama connected with Butler

Kyrie may be quirky but he is not stupid. He wanted his own team, he got it. They have built a team that will carry them long into the future, with Kyrie at the head of it all.

Jimmy Butler is never happy, period. Sure he wants to win, so don't alot of other guys in this league. He is a terrific ball player, talented, but I cannot believe, at this stage of his career, that he will convince Kyrie to make this move to NY. I may be wrong, but, the Celtics are a premier organization. Kyrie has the world at his fingertips. It just doesn't seem like he would be this foolish. Maybe at the end of his career, but certainly not Now

Rosalie

Kyrie to NY is a Knicks' pipe dream. Bloggers come up with any insignificant bit of information and then build a narrative round it. Then other idiot news outlets pick up a story and pass it along like the flu.

Kyrie has a great relationship with the coach and his teammates. He is not standing in the shadow of anyone. He came to Boston to win a championship and to step outside of the overwhelming presence of Lebron James.

He came to Boston knowing that they were a well managed team that was building towards something special. But I am sure he did not realize how good the team could be. No one knew that. He missed the playoffs last year. Boston did not mess around with his injury. Now he is ready to play and next week on Friday we will have the 1st pre-season game. He played all last year with a sore knee. He comes back this year in a much better situation. His understanding of who this team is was cemented in the playoffs when out pups led the team to a 7th game showdown.

Kyrie is certainly not immune from all the attention he will get in the summer. The NYK will make their pitch as will the Nets and a few other teams with CAP space to spend. Kyrie will make a decision based on what makes him most happy. He likes being the guy and he wants to win. NY is unlikely to provide both of those things.

Hi,
According to NBA Butler requested a trade from Minnesota.

AK

Flashback to 2017, Chicago/Boston Eastern Conference playoffs.
With Rondo slicing and dicing Celts go down 0-2 losing both games at home.
Then Rondo goes down which means Jimmy Butler has to step up big time like the superstar he thinks he is and will his team to victory. After all, they are up 2-0 and now have home court advantage.
Nope! Jimmy Butler turns into Casper and Chicago never wins another game in the series. Nuff said about Jimmy Butler...

Butler has now requested a trade with preferred locations including LAC, Knicks and Nets.

The NY papers are buzzing.  The Knicks are not willing to part with any first rounders but may do a deal that includes Courtney Lee and Tim Hardaway Jr.

The Nets have finally finished their sentence in basketball purgatory.  They will not be inclined to give up picks either as well as players like Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

In the meantime the Clippers are apparently his preferred choice.  They could move any combination of Tobias Harris, Beverly, and Even Avery Bradley's name has been thrown in their although he cannot be traded until after January 15th.  The Clippers 2021 1st rounder may also be in the mix.  

At least Butler has given the Wolves advance notice that he will not resign with them.   The sooner a deal gets done the better for the Wolves  in terms of compensation.  

Stephen A is already yapping about the Knicks needing to make a deal so they can then entice Kyrie.

I think the Clippers have the best chance of getting Butler but thy would be dumb to include Harris unless they have no plans to resign him.  Tobias puts up numbers similar to Butler.

I remember when several fans on this board had the hots for Butler.  Should the Celtics get in the mix?  I will give you my answer right now.  HELL NO!

Not me, I have always disliked the attitude of the player.
Butler wants to be Curry, Kyrie, or one of those super stars who would be irreplaceable. Not going to happen, he just is a player who will always be searching for that one team where he will be the king, and the rest are his subjects. Let him go Minnesota, if not, you may lose Towns

Wolves have no choice now but to trade him but the question is will they be forced to accept a lesser return.  

Butler will never be Batman.  He will always be Robin.  If he goes to any of his 3 preferred destinations he will still be Robin with no Batman leading the way.

I guess that is the best way to describe Butler. A follower, not a leader. Will he ever be happy???????????

Ktronic1 wrote:Flashback to 2017, Chicago/Boston Eastern Conference playoffs.
With Rondo slicing and dicing Celts go down 0-2 losing both games at home.
Then Rondo goes down which means Jimmy Butler has to step up big time like the superstar he thinks he is and will his team to victory. After all, they are up 2-0 and now have home court advantage.
Nope!  Jimmy Butler turns into Casper and Chicago never wins another game in the series. Nuff said about Jimmy Butler...

This

If needed right now no.

Dan Greenberg
Dan Greenberg @StoolGreenie
yesterday
In Jimmy Butler's Year 3 season (24) he put up 13.1/4.9/2.6 on 39/28% splits playing 38.7mpg w/ a usage of 16.8% Saying you knew he'd be THIS Jimmy Butler is a flat out lie. To say Jaylen can't have a similar career arc is just lazy. No guarantee, but it is in fact possible



bob
MY NOTE:  Jaylen Brown may become Jimmy Butler, but Jimmy Butler IS Jimmy Butler.  Having said that I still wouldn't trade Brown for Butler.  Jaylen is cheaper, more efficient offensively, has a MUCH better team-first mentality and is 7-8 years younger.  There are only 3 players I would include Jaylen Brown in a trade package for:  Davis, KAT and Embiid, and I'm not even sure about KAT since I am ambivalent about his commitment to defense.


bob


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bobheckler wrote:Dan Greenberg
Dan Greenberg @StoolGreenie
yesterday
In Jimmy Butler's Year 3 season (24) he put up 13.1/4.9/2.6 on 39/28% splits playing 38.7mpg w/ a usage of 16.8% Saying you knew he'd be THIS Jimmy Butler is a flat out lie. To say Jaylen can't have a similar career arc is just lazy. No guarantee, but it is in fact possible



bob
MY NOTE:  Jaylen Brown may become Jimmy Butler, but Jimmy Butler IS Jimmy Butler.  Having said that I still wouldn't trade Brown for Butler.  Jaylen is cheaper, more efficient offensively, has a MUCH better team-first mentality and is 7-8 years younger.  There are only 3 players I would include Jaylen Brown in a trade package for:  Davis, KAT and Embiid, and I'm not even sure about KAT since I am ambivalent about his commitment to defense.


bob


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I'll go father and say Tatum and Brown are on my no trade list now.

The team that should get in the mix is Philly.  They have enough assets to go after Butler and they need to upgrade their wing position.

LAC, NYK and NJN are all in a rebuilding mode.  These teams will have CAP space next year and as such there may be a reluctance to alter their plans.  The Clippers are a likely destination if they really want Butler.  

The text book on rebuilding a team was already published by Danny Ainge.  Many teams are looking at how they did it.  The process Danny used was a process of acquiring under valued assets. Basically a seemingly endless game of trading up.

Butler submitting a list that includes the Knicks and Nets says about all I need to hear about being a "winner" - who leaves a good young team to go to the Knicks?

No thanks.....they can keep him. And if Kyrie wants to join him, that would be unfortunate but Celtics will be fine. Danny holds ALL the chips.

kdp59 wrote:

bobheckler wrote:Dan Greenberg
Dan Greenberg @StoolGreenie
yesterday
In Jimmy Butler's Year 3 season (24) he put up 13.1/4.9/2.6 on 39/28% splits playing 38.7mpg w/ a usage of 16.8% Saying you knew he'd be THIS Jimmy Butler is a flat out lie. To say Jaylen can't have a similar career arc is just lazy. No guarantee, but it is in fact possible



bob
MY NOTE:  Jaylen Brown may become Jimmy Butler, but Jimmy Butler IS Jimmy Butler.  Having said that I still wouldn't trade Brown for Butler.  Jaylen is cheaper, more efficient offensively, has a MUCH better team-first mentality and is 7-8 years younger.  There are only 3 players I would include Jaylen Brown in a trade package for:  Davis, KAT and Embiid, and I'm not even sure about KAT since I am ambivalent about his commitment to defense.


bob


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I'll go father and say Tatum and Brown are on my no trade list now.

+1

mrkleen09 wrote:Butler submitting a list that includes the Knicks and Nets says about all I need to hear about being a "winner" - who leaves a good young team to go to the Knicks?

No thanks.....they can keep him.  And if Kyrie wants to join him,  that would be unfortunate but Celtics will be fine.  Danny holds ALL the chips.

Like!

But I really do not think Kyrie would leave Boston to join Jimmy