Exactly. The fact that he's demanding a trade shows that he either impatient or stupid or has to leave because he's burned too many bridges. Or it's a bargaining move. If he gets traded, I think it'll be to a surprising team who, like OKC with George and Toronto with Leonard, believe that they can convince him to stay. Not sure I want it to be us, though. While he's a ball-stopper on defense, which is good, he's also one on offense, which isn't. (Having said that, if I was Brooklyn I'd absolutely be offering D'Angelo Russell.)
But Jrue Holiday is, and is also someone he can score on, which is more than could be said for CJ, and could certainly have made the difference in that Pelicans series.
The same thing I was saying about him. Yes he talent not saying that but need look in the mirror. Will he help you win yes but looks like he after the big money.
Butler is a borderline top 10, and a definite top 15 player in the league. Acquiring him while keeping Dame would give us two of those players. Noting that their skills are actually complementary is an added bonus. You go after him even with all the question marks attached. These contracts/free agency/ character/ etc concerns should come secondary to talent and on court fit, especially when we have such a great leader already on the roster.
Indeed, that’s why I mentioned Denver. They are starving for playoffs, have some young talent to throw at Minnesota and could even offer Harris to match salaries if they are desperate. Miami probably would move for him but they have zilch to offer. Maybe someone like Dallas too. They seem intent on competing now, have players to match salaries who are currently expiring (Matthews) or who could contribute for Wolves (Barnes). Butler also seems to have been on their radar and could thrive next to Jordan, Doncic and Smith. A good fit would be Utah if he wants to be around players who defend and work hard. That’s basically what entire Jazz team is about. Not sure what they could offer.
Quick glance at team forums suggests that fans of teams who are actually half decent don’t want him at all because of their concerns regarding chemistry (Phila, Utah and some of our fans here all saying that) and fans of teams that suck want him badly (Dallas, Nets).
Question; would the team trading for him get his bird rights, and would they also be able to offer more money than other teams?
Yes, the bird rights would transfer. Only things team trading for him would be able to offer greater than other teams would be higher annual raises (8% vs 5%), as well as one additional year in the deal.
There is no way the Wolves swing a deal with Portland (big time division rival) without it being a no brainer for them. You would have to give up CJ at least to even be considered. Our deal would need to be pie alamode for them. Would we trade Dame to Utah w/o wanting at least 1 of their two stars? no way Otherwise he leaving the division and maybe even the conference.
Sounds like a comment from a GM of a roster full of young players who aren't interested in playing defense, not the comment of a GM who has one of the best leaders in the game who has established a culture with a solid work ethic and dedication to winning. BNM
What do you care if he's an ugly player who isn't fun to watch? You don't watch the games. All you should care about are the box scores and the standings. Both would be considerably more attractive with the addition of Butler. BNM
Given what we know about Neil, I really doubt he offers CJ up in a trade, especially without assurance from Jimmy that he'll stay. Don't think he has the guts to do it.
Neil will probably offer Meyers, Harkless and picks. I really think Neil and Stotts want to keep Turner around.
They did when David Kahn was GM and intent on raiding our roster. Not so sure that's still the case. Thibs was in the East forever (BOS and CHI). Even in MIN he's 2 time zones away from Portland. The one, and only, time POR and MIN met in the playoffs was 19 seasons ago. Doesn't sound like much of a rivalry to me. Being in the same division does not increase the likelihood of meeting in the post season, and winning the division got bumped down to second tie breaker (after head to head record) in 2016. Sure trading him to the East means only seeing him twice a year and further decreases the likelihood of meeting him in the playoffs (assuming the NBA doesn't adopt a 16 best teams playoff regardless of conference format), but sending him to POR is no worse than sending him to any other team in the West, and actually better than having him end up someplace like GSW, HOU, SAS, LAL, etc. BNM
"Look, we're not going to overreact and bifurcate the backcourt, even for another star on the same career arc as Damian. On a macro level, CJ's an important element to our overall strategy."
