Although we’re unsure still what is going to happen in Minnesota, there is a chance that the Timberwolves will be shopping Jimmy Butler. The Phoenix Suns should not pursue him.
It is widely understood that in the NBA teams need a minimum of two stars to be playoff competitive, and three to have the talent to be true championship contenders.
Obviously the Suns have the first part of the competitive formula with Devin Booker, and they hope that they will at least have one more between Josh Jackson and Deandre Ayton.
However, if either one of them do develop, they likely won’t be ready this season, and might need a least one more year of seasoning before they are ready to help carry the team.
If the Suns want to be place themselves in a position to make the playoffs this season, though, they’ll have to trade for a second star at some point, likely sooner rather than later, getting him on the court and acclimated with his new teammates as quickly as possibly, in particular, Devin Booker.
It is en vogue these days for star players to demand trades the moment they face any disturbance in the locker room or after a little losing, so it seems only logical that at least one star will become available this season, Jimmy Butler potentially one of them.
The problem is, while Butler is a bonafide star and probably becomes the Suns’ first All-Star since Steve Nash in 2012, Butler is not the star that the Phoenix Suns are looking for and should avoid trading for him this season.
The biggest reason is that he and Kyrie Irving have long spoken about playing with one another, and while besties in the NBA don’t seem to be able to pair up too often (obviously LeBron James and Dwayne Wade are the exception), but with how upset Butler has been throughout the summer, and the fact that he had to have a meeting with Head Coach Tom Thibodeau, things are obviously not going well.
If the Celtics are able to make it to the NBA Finals this season and Kyrie remains happy in Boston, it seems doubtful that he’d leave the team that he is the unequivocal face of, meaning that if the two truly do want to pair up, that Boston will have to be the location.
Taking Boston of the equation for a moment, the ‘Wolves are talented and were a Western Conference playoff team last year. But should this uncomfortable situation carry through into the season, and should Minnesota struggle because of the turmoil, they might look to move Butler sooner rather than later in an attempt to get pieces in return to help turn their season around – and anything for him in case he were to walk as a free agent this summer.
But unless the Timberwolves would be wiling to take a backup center in Tyson Chandler or maybe small forward in T.J. Warren, Phoenix shouldn’t want to give any of their young core up to acquire him with the carried risk that they’d be in the same locker room predicament and postseason conundrum as Minnesota is now.
My presumption, is that like most stars in this league who teams might make available in trade, a trade package by the Phoenix Suns would have to center around either Josh Jackson, and/or a package of first round picks (I’d say two would be required).
The problem is though, if Jimmy Butler tore up the locker room here as well or left Phoenix high and dry this summer after trading talent necessary to keep the roster moving in a positive direction into the future, a trade for Butler would not have been worth it.
Losing out on a potential star in Jackson, and/or losing out on any first round picks that they themselves might turn into stars when selected, or used in other trades (even on draft day), could be detrimental to the future growth of the franchise if they aren’t able to re-sign Butler.
This argument is the same as the one the Suns faced when they were considering trading for Kyrie Irving, only he had two seasons under contract still, to Butler’s now one.
As exciting as it would be to add a true star in Jimmy Butler to the Suns’ roster this season, pairing up with Devin Booker and allowing Deandre Ayton to not have to feel like he must take on too much his rookie year, the risks involved in acquiring the embattled star are just to high for a team who right now cannot afford to miss on any moves they make, and instead focus on only making moves that have a much higher chance for success than failure.