Two days ago, Jimmy Butler requested a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves. According ESPN’s Woj, Butler listed three teams for his preferred destinations, which were, the Nets, Clippers and Knicks. However, late yesterday, reports surfaced that Butler would most likely prefer to go to the Clippers along with another superstar.
I’ll try to make this as quick and painless as possible because it is relatively simple for Knicks fans. We do not need to trade for Jimmy Butler. Butler is 29 years old, not necessarily as young as people think. Knicks are currently on the right track in their youth movement, don’t screw it up by trading or overpaying for Butler.
Trading for Butler shouldn’t even be a thought unless it’s dumping contracts or older players like Noah, Lance, Lee, Kanter or Hardaway. People will say, “well Hardaway is youngâ€, yes, but I’d trade him solely based off his contract. And for the amount of money Kanter is getting paid for minimal minutes, yeah he can go too.
Also, if Butler and Knicks both want to partner up, why trade for him when he can come next season in free agency? But, you can’t give him a max contract, not for an aging shooting guard. Butler is not a fine wine lie LeBron or Durant meaning he is not getting better with age. Butler is a good two-way player, but he’ll want big money and the Knicks have made that mistake before.
Knicks twitter went crazy yesterday when this news dropped and fans responded with mixed reviews. Some wanting zero part of Butler, with others drooling over the idea of him coming to the Big Apple. The truth is the Knicks don’t need to trade for Butler, let’s not make the Melo trade and give up a stupid amount in this situation. If he wants to come, come in free agency, but don’t trade for him.
The real, real truth is the Knicks don’t need Butler in general. The Knicks want youth and Butler is not young anymore. This organization has made countless mistakes in the past for overpaying or trading for aging vets. Let’s not continue this trend, yet again. Develop those young draft picks and continue on the youth movement.