Philadelphia 76ers roundtable: Thoughts on the Jimmy Butler trade

Rusty Gorelick

I’m really happy that the Philadelphia 76ers traded for Jimmy Butler. The team has needed a dominant perimeter scorer for a while, and they finally got the man to fill that hole. He also gives Philly the perfect player to go to in clutch situations since he can score from all three levels, and his diverse offensive game will make it a lot harder to defend the 76ers.

By himself, Butler is a lot more likely to carry his team to a win than either Dario Saric or Robert Covington, so this deal feels like it was a relatively easy one for Elton Brand to make. Obviously, the Sixers lost a lot of sentimental value when they traded Dario and RoCo, but acquiring Butler is  a statement of intent for the rest of the NBA.

Butler is also a ready-made replacement for Covington defensively, so Philly will not lose too much on that end with Cov gone. The four-time All-Star’s intensity should be welcomed on this young Sixers team, even though it may cause a bit of a shock at first. He will definitely lead by example, as the team will count on him as one of their top two options offensively, and if he plays well and lives up to his own high standards, then the rest of the squad will feel motivated to follow suit.

The Sixers need to hold themselves up to the standards of the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics, and Butler will help them do that. He’s already a top-15 player in the league, and as long as his leadership is well-intentioned and not abrasive, he will show that he was the missing piece all along.