I'd rather not make false inaccurate predictions to make myself a somebody than shoot my mouth off on things I have no way of knowing it is true.
Real talk. If you are in a situation where it is very possible that you can win and winning is all you care about. A player like Jimmy would fall in line.
At the end of the day, Butler brings what Tucker and Gordon cannot and that is a legitimate crunch time all-star player/scorer. I love PJ and Eric but when Paul went down last year in the WCF the offense took a huge dive. With Butler, you at least have another go-to scorer that can get buckets when needed...much like what we're all hoping for we have in Melo. I think maybe...just maybe...Morey and D'Antoni is prepared to pivot away from the elite switching defense because you needed to have the perfect system along with the perfect role players to execute (e.g. upping the risk profile). It'll be a crazy ride if we give up Gordon and Tucker for Butler but, if all bodies are healthy in the playoffs, the 6-7 man rotation that D'Atoni runs looks a lot better with Butler than without Capela Melo Butler Harden Paul with Ennis, Knight, and Gerald Green getting leftover minutes.
EG it is then.....id rather keep Tucker as I feel Ego legacy will be fulfilled and surpassed by Butlers O and D.
I don't like this at all. We need EG off the bench. We need Tuck's defense now that LMAM, Ariza are gone. We will lose the depth.
I LOVE going after Jimmy. but why let Tucker go? He was our best Draymond Green defender and shooter for a PF. i guess thats where marquese chriss comes in
Chris Paul James Harden Jimmy Butler PJ Tucker Clint Capela ------------------ Carmelo Anthony/James Ennis/Brandon Knight GOAT team...
Does Jimmy even like the city of Houston? Just because he was born here doesn't mean he wants to live here.
I don't get some people saying Jimmy can't guard bigs. He's 6'8". I don't get some people saying Jimmy can't guard guards. He's a SG. He is ELITE! TALENT WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS! Eric Gordon's and PJ Tuckers don't win championships!* (*Ok, maybe one in Detroit nearly 20 years ago, I digress) Paul/Knight/MCW Harden/Gray Butler/Green/Edwards Melo/Ennis/Coboclo Capela/Chriss/Nene/Hartenstein/Zhou Starting 4-LEGIT perimeter threats and Capela is a BIG small-ball lineup. You don't need to replace Gordon's shooting in one player, you spread the hole left from his departure in the agregate of others' shooting. Melo can hoist it up at least as much as Gordon did this year. Butler is going to DEFINITELY attempt as many as Ariza did in his time here, and MAKE more too!. Remember how often Ryno DIDN'T shoot??? We won't have that problem anymore. PJ's attempts will be shared between Ennis and Knight, EASY! We had a LOT of minutes last year where we were getting ZERO on-court production. Here is my Apples v. Oranges analysis of how we are ahead (on paper) if we pulled off getting Butler: (O) Butler+Knight+Chriss > Ariza+Gordon+LMAM (expected, adjusted for playing time) (D) Butler+Knight+Chriss = Ariza+Gordon+LMAM (expected, adjusted for playing time) (O) Melo > Ryno (D) Melo = Ryno = LOLOLOLOLOL (O) Ennis = Tucker (expected, adjusted for playing time) (D) Ennis = Tucker (expected, adjusted for playing time) We come out WAY ahead on offense with Melo in the lineup. We break even with his D compared ONLY to Ryno's playing time. I expect that Ennis and Tucker break even on offense, but Ennis can be the "heart-of-the-team" type of player on D, so I think this is another fair trade. Butler, Knight, and Chriss is funny because there is no BEST way to compare them to Ariza, Gordon, and LMAM. Butler can create, so can Gordon. Butler is great in 1on1 D, so was Ariza. Butler can slide to the 4, so did Ariza/LMAM. Butler won't ever have to slide to the 4, that is what Ennis will need to do, a la Tucker. Gordon's D wasn't elite, but it was hidden well when playing backups. The same will go for Knight. His D against backups will be hidden, but his shooting will SHOINE!!! He has 6th man potential! Chriss will HOPEFULLY relieve us of having to play Nene at the end of games. We will save 1/2 leads lost against teams who had an athletic big to play against our bench last season. With Chriss's potential shooting, and playing with an ELITE playmaker every moment he's on the court, we should expect those leads to remain ours. His shooting was worse than Ariza's, but again, how much is Ariza's 3P% going to drop WITHOUT CP3 and Harden, and how much is Chriss's going to go up? If we can get Butler, and it costs us Gordon AND Tucker, I'm all for it since we found good VORPs in Butler/Knight/Chriss. #InMoreyWeTrust
Our chances of landing Butler now are very small. We are most likely offering Gordon/youngster(s) + picks and we're teasing Minny with the possibility of a bigger, better offer at the deadline when we have more trade flexibility. It's in our best interests to take this approach now in hopes of getting Minny to not take a deal for Butler now. Then watching his trade value wain later. It also allows us to fully investigate the small forward trade market. Personally..as much as I like Butler.....I'd rather have a younger up-and-coming player like Winslow or Oubre that is hitting restricted free agency and even if they get a max offer it'll be significantly less than what we'd have to pay utler heading into his 30's. I will be shocked if we include Tucker in any trade. ANY TRADE for ANYBODY. He's too valuable at his salary and key role right now. Maybe after next season when he's aged a little more we could move him then. Sweet spot. Two years in, two years left. But in my opinion, he's simply too important to our defense at his salary to trade for the Butler upgrade. If he underperforms this coming year, then I'd consider moving him at the deadline. But not now. I simply don't believe this is doable right now. But I do like the idea of trading ..... say ....Chriss for Marcus Morris, a future second, and another contract from the Wolves in order to facilitate a three way deal for Butler to Boston.
Man, if you think Tucker is just another 3 and D role player, then you need to go rewatch all of the playoffs. Not to mention check out some advanced stats for Tucker. So ungrateful, fans turn on a dime its so funny.
