Moving CJ for Butler would make so much sense for everyone here. Minnesota finally get some floor spacing and can play Wiggins in his natural position without Butler getting in the way, Portland get a wing who can defend and Butler goes to a team that could perhaps go deep in the playoffs with him and gets to play whichever role he prefers because we can use him both at 2 and 3. Olshey will never make that move because he won’t accept the uncertainty of Butler re-signing here next year. If he leaves and goes East then then it would basically be a one year rental in a year when nobody can compete with Golden State anyway. Basically a perfect mirror of the situation with George last year. Teams like OKC can take such risk and make that move, Portland won’t.
Portland should though. Butler's a hard worker who's played under and has a respect for Thibs. I think hes really respect Dame and like the situation. If he leaves, then maybe we could get some cap space for next summer to go after Tyreke, Cousins, Klay, etc.
Oh, I do agree with you. Even if we lost Butler after a year (I don't think we would, think he would love it in Portland), we could still build something via free agency after getting some cap relief. I don't think we would be able to get someone like Klay but Indiana are not a posh market either and they have got plenty of decent free agents mainly thanks to being frugal with money recently. I just don't think Olshey would ever make such move. I think CJ is borderline untradeable because he's proven quality and has a great relationship with Dame. I think Dame, CJ, Collins and Nurkic are off the table for any possible trades.
Idk why every top player in the west that wanted off of their team wouldn't be clamoring to go to the east right now.
you can make the allstar team in the east now if you were a bench player in the west....trip to finals is a cakewalk compared to the west....I don't get it either
Totally agree with this. Butler fits the Blazers’ need more than CJ in my opinion, and Portland needs to take a chance and swing for a home run.
Butler is one of the few players who could replace C.J.'s scoring AND provide a significant upgrade defensively (Kawhi and PG13 being the other two that are/were available) . A year and a half ago when there were rumblings Butler wanted out of CHI, I was totally on board with trying to get him with a package centered around C.J. - and I love C.J. So, hell yeah! If Butler is available, you have to go for it and make your best offer. The problem is, Thibs LOVES Butler and he's not just the MIN coach, he's also the President of Basketball Operations. I think he'd probably much rather move Wiggins than Butler, and Wiggins is just a bigger, less efficient, higher paid version of C.J. No thanks to that. That said, a Butler for C.J. swap may actually also be our chance to get rid of Meyers. Not that MIN would actually want him, but Gorgui Dieng is one of the highest paid backups in the league. He is owed more than $48 million over the next three years and plays less than 16 mpg. That's an extra year and $27 million more than Meyers is owed. Dieng is a better player, but if anything, he may be even more overpaid than Meyers. The cost savings alone may not be enough to pry Butler free from MIN. They may actually want a useful player in exchange for Dieng, and even more cost savings: This saves them a whopping $41 million on Dieng's contract and Aminu actually seems like the kind of defensive player Thibs would prefer. This one, I'd still do. This is what MIN would probably ask for: Would you give up our PF of the Now and our PF of the Future to get Butler? Dieng would be a solid (if grotesquely overpaid) back up for Nurk, but doesn't really have the skill set to play PF in today's NBA. We'd no longer be relying on Meyers as our backup center, but we that leaves Meyers and Swanigan as our "best" options at the 4. Maybe offer them a lottery protected future 1st round pick instead of Collins. BNM
Interesting. It is very unlikely Butler becomes a blazer, and if he does, remember he only has 1 year on his contract (before he has a player option), so could end up being a 1 year rental. So, if we're going to dream about Butler, the preferred dream is the wet one where we unload ET (who is supposed admired by Thibs).
Would you do the second trade, C.J. and Aminu for Butler and Dieng? Maybe throw in a top 20 protected 1st to sweeten the pot? BNM
I listed three trade scenarios. The first favors POR. The 3rd favors MIN and the middle one seems like it's fair for both. BNM
I wouldn't. If all that's been rumored is true, and butler doesn't want to be there, and is a free agent after the season, then I think them getting a locked in CJ straight up is fair value. The thought of having 26 million dollars tied up in 2 crappy backup Cs is a no. Especially when you factor in butler looking at a huge contract ne t summer.
So, would you do the first scenario, C.J. and Meyers for Butler and Dieng. That would rid us of one overpaid backup center. We'd replace him with another overpaid back up center, but one that's actually halfway decent. BNM
