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It’s Official: The Sixers Have Landed Jimmy Butler

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During the offseason, Sixers head coach and interim GM Brett Brown promised that the team was “star hunting.” They weren’t lying. We were all surprised on Saturday, the day after my birthday I might add, when word got out that the Sixers were adding Jimmy Butler.

The trade call with the NBA was due to happen today and it seems as if everything is final, according to the team’s  Twitter tidal wave. The deal was said to be driven by the owners of the two teams, with input from Elton Brand, Brett Brown, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons on the Sixers side.

Sounds like they’re all in, as it should be.

Brand had the following to share:

We have a championship window that’s centered around the continued progression of our talented young core, as well as our ability to add elite players who elevate our program. In Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, we have two of the NBA’s top 20 players. Now, we’ve added a third top-20 player in Jimmy Butler, who is one of the NBA’s very best on both ends of the floor. This move further strengthens our pursuit of a championship and gives us a formidable combination to take on the league’s top teams.

The details of the trade of course are that sent off Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless and a 2022 2nd round pick for Jimmy and Justin Patton, the latter of which is currently injured. Covington and Dario were beloved by the city, and truly gave their best when they were on the floor. However, the consistent scoring that the starting 5 needed wasn’t coming from either of them.

It sounds as if Butler will make his Sixers debut on Wednesday, which will be important since the team had only 9 players dressed for a loss to the Grizzlies. The team will hold an official press conference Tuesday (tomorrow) to introduce him. It should be a fun watch, given the fact that Butler pulls no punches and consistently states that all he wants to do is play basketball and win.

Something, we weren’t sure what, wasn’t working for the Sixers. It was obvious early on that the gear to be better than last season just wasn’t there. Butler is hopefully that gear. He will be that gear, I believe. The knock on Butler on his way out of Minnesota was that he was in the face of his younger counterparts, wanting more from them in practice and in games. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, especially when Towns, the face of the Timberwolves franchise, had just gotten a massive new deal.

That fire will be welcomed in Philadelphia by the fans, and hopefully meshes well with Ben, Jo and the rest of the crew. Philly wanted a big 3, and now Philly has it. And hopefully Philly has it for a long time, according to reports that both the Sixers and Butler want to sign a longterm deal next Summer is a good sign. Getting Butler in a trade without giving up Markelle Fultz or any #1 picks is nothing short of a coup for the Sixers.

Will the team be adding even more pieces for its run? Stay tuned.

If you’re amped up, check out some of Butler’s stats and watch some highlights to keep the high going:

Per Game Table
Season Age Tm Pos G MP FG% 3P% FT% TRB AST STL BLK PTS
2011-12 22 CHI SG 42 8.5 .405 .182 .768 1.3 0.3 0.3 0.1 2.6
2012-13 23 CHI SF 82 26.0 .467 .381 .803 4.0 1.4 1.0 0.4 8.6
2013-14 24 CHI SG 67 38.7 .397 .283 .769 4.9 2.6 1.9 0.5 13.1
2014-15 25 CHI SG 65 38.7 .462 .378 .834 5.8 3.3 1.8 0.6 20.0
2015-16 26 CHI SG 67 36.9 .454 .312 .832 5.3 4.8 1.6 0.6 20.9
2016-17 27 CHI SF 76 37.0 .455 .367 .865 6.2 5.5 1.9 0.4 23.9
2017-18 28 MIN SG 59 36.7 .474 .350 .854 5.3 4.9 2.0 0.4 22.2
2018-19 29 MIN SG 10 36.1 .471 .378 .787 5.2 4.3 2.4 1.0 21.3
Career 468 32.9 .453 .341 .831 4.9 3.4 1.5 0.5 16.5
6 seasons CHI 399 32.3 .448 .337 .828 4.8 3.1 1.5 0.5 15.6
2 seasons MIN 69 36.6 .474 .355 .846 5.3 4.8 2.0 0.5 22.0
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/12/2018.

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