For a few minutes this weekend I tried to imagine what Jimmy Butler might look like on the Detroit Pistons.
My thought process is that they’d be buying low, and that his contract isn’t catastrophic, as he only has a player option for next season which he might decline to seek a longer deal.
Worst case scenario, you have a motivated and angry Butler for a playoff run, he opts out, and you have a big chunk of cap space next offseason. There would also be the hope of a sign-and-trade in which the Pistons reaped some assets to send him to another team.
In this hypothetical, I considered a deal built around Tim Hardaway Jr., Tobias Harris, and a bunch of second-round picks, assets that wouldn’t hurt Detroit in the long term.
Would that even be enough to get Butler? And would he benefit the Pistons more than the combination of THJ and Harris?
Butler is scoring 17.6 points per game this season, same as Jaden Ivey, except Ivey isn’t 35 years old. Butler is currently disgruntled earning $50 million a year in South Beach, and it’s doubtful he’d want to come to Detroit, a team that is currently behind his Heat in the standings and not a title contender.
Depending on the offer, it’s easy to talk yourself in or out of Jimmy Butler on the Pistons, but a recent proposal is a good example of one the Pistons would and should run away from.
Trading Jimmy Butler to the Detroit Pistons
If all you are trading is THJ and Harris, two guys who won’t be with the Pistons long term anyway, then it’s easy to talk yourself into part of a season of Butler. It could be fun for a playoff run and if he leaves, who cares, THJ was expiring and Harris only has an extra year anyway.
But if you are giving up real assets for a disgruntled 35-year-old whose numbers are way down, then I am out and I am certain the Pistons would feel the same.
That’s what happens in this proposal from our friends at All U Can Heat who did a Jimmy Butler trade for every team:
Yikes.
Butler is still good, but he’s past his prime and has a murky contract situation, so it’s hard to see any team giving up multiple first-round picks for what could be a half-season rental.
On top of that, the Pistons are giving up Holland II, who has been quietly very good lately and looks like a keeper. Given his age, that's like adding another 1st-round pick.
The Pistons are looking to take on draft assets this season, not give them away for a guy out of team control after this season who wants a ton of money.
At some point, the Pistons will push some of their assets in for a star, but Butler is not the guy at his age and with his contract situation.
And if this is the kind of package the Heat are expecting for Butler, they are likely to be very disappointed.