Denver Nuggets: Could Jimmy Butler Be A Target This Summer?
Here’s why Jimmy Butler in a Denver Nuggets uniform is not so outlandish anymore.
Do the Denver Nuggets need a superstar? No. Would they gladly trade for Jimmy Butler? Absolutely.
After two seasons with Brian Shaw at the helm, national media placed incredibly low expectations on the 2015-16 Nuggets season. Captained by Michael Malone, Denver has since exceeded those expectations with surprising contributions from Gary Harris, Will Barton and Nikola Jokic.
Danilo Gallinari flirted with being the first 20 points per game scorer in Denver since Carmelo Anthony before suffering a severe ankle injury, while Kenneth Faried has averaged 3.5 offensive rebounds per game in only 25.6 minutes.
Emmanuel Mudiay and Nikola Jokic have added to the group of Jusuf Nurkic, Harris, Barton, and Joffrey Lauvergne to form a promising young core. At their best, Mudiay, Jokic and Nurkic look like potential stars. Gary Harris and Will Barton could develop into high quality starters down the line as well. There’s no guarantee any of them will reach their ceilings, though.
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Enter Jimmy Butler.
The shooting guard for the Chicago Bulls is currently enjoying a quality individual season, but according to Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports, the organization has grown unhappy with Butler over his feuding with Fred Hoiberg. The former head coach of the Iowa State Cyclones came to Chicago looking to introduce a faster, more offensive look to the Chicago Bulls. The problem? The roster is still geared for the “grind-it-out” system that Holberg’s predecessor, Tom Thibodeau, utilized.
Butler was a product of that system, blossoming in the 2013 NBA Playoffs as the main defender of LeBron James and performed admirably. The following season, Butler breached the 20 points per game barrier on offense and combined his defensive skills with a new offensive repertoire to earn himself a five-year, $95 million deal.
Hoiberg has used Butler in an even larger role offensively this season, and while Butler’s efficiency has fallen off slightly, his raw numbers are superstar caliber.
Here are the numbers per game that Butler ranks top 10 among shooting guards:
- Minutes (second)
- Points (fourth)
- Assists (sixth)
- Rebounds (fourth)
- Steals (second)
- Blocks (fifth)
- Free Throws Made (third)
Whoa.
Butler doesn’t even rank in the top 10 in turnovers at his position, which is incredible considering the minutes and responsibility he has for his team. His Player Efficiency Rating of 21.0 ranks third among shooting guards, and his Real Plus-Minus, a statistic designed to encompass a player’s entire contribution on the court, is 4.13 — second among shooting guards and 19th in the entire NBA.
It’s safe to say that Butler’s all-around contributions make him one of the most well-rounded players in the entire NBA, if not the most. A Jack-of-all-Trades and master of many.
The Bulls may not seriously want to trade Jimmy Butler, but with a mounting injury history, a potential stylistic clash with his head coach, and current standing on a team in possible need of a full rebuild and younger players, Butler would bring back the most assets. Chicago has the ability to shop him for the best offer.
The Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic will each come up as potential destinations for Jimmy Buckets, but the sleeper destination will be the Denver Nuggets, a squad with a clear need for a star and the assets to acquire one.
While Mudiay should be made untouchable due to his high ceiling and conflicting position with Derrick Rose, the rest of the roster can be utilized as trade bait to pique the interest of the Bulls, and really, who could argue with the assets of the Denver Nuggets? They can put together a package that few teams can rival.
The Bulls should have a checklist for the items they need in any trade. Here’s what I think they should ask for:
- A replacement for Jimmy Butler at shooting guard
- A quality veteran to help the transition to a younger core
- An additional young piece that could be game-changing
- Draft picks
The Nuggets have all of these pieces in spades, starting with the replacement for Jimmy Butler: Gary Harris.
Harris is 21 years old, in his second season, and the jump he has made this season is very equivalent to Butler’s jump in his second season, per Basketball-Reference. He doesn’t have the same elite defensive potential that Butler does due to a smaller frame at 6’4″, but his offense is arguably equal or better. With a higher volume and the same efficiency shooting, along with a larger area from which he can attack the defense, Harris has shown the potential to be a high quality starter.
He isn’t exactly a defensive slouch though. Harris has been utilized as the main defender on James Harden, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard, and even someone as tall as Paul George. He’s had varying success in this role, but on a team lacking quality perimeter defenders, Harris stands out as the best option like a police siren.
When comparing Harris as one of the centerpieces of a deal to other pieces that competing teams can offer, he doesn’t provide the same flair that Victor Oladipo of Orlando or Avery Bradley/Marcus Smart of Boston offer as potential replacements for Butler. Even still, Harris has been incredibly efficient in his role with Denver, and with his current progression, he is very likely to be a quality starter for any team that wants him.
Denver can also offer solid veterans like Danilo Gallinari or Kenneth Faried to offset the loss of Butler’s veteran presence.
Both Gallinari and Faried would be quality pieces in Fred Hoiberg’s offense, and while Chicago currently has a logjam in their front court, both Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah may be gone, and Taj Gibson hasn’t done enough to turn heads in his tenure on the Chicago bench. Both Gallinari and Faried would be offensive weapons that Hoiberg would welcome into his offensive scheme without a bat of an eye.
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Also, Denver would include the likely seventh overall pick in the upcoming draft, in addition to the 2016 protected first rounder from the Memphis Grizzlies. The pick likely will not convey this year, but next year, the pick holds only a 1-5 protection, meaning that unless the Grizzlies crash and burn, Chicago will pick up an extra pick, one that’s likely to be valuable very soon.
What the other teams can’t offer are the choice of two high quality big men, each with varying skill sets, that Fred Hoiberg could deploy as the anchor of the franchise for the next 10 years.
Jusuf Nurkic and Nikola Jokic provide a conundrum for Nuggets fans as to who should be the starting center of the future. On one hand, Nurkic excelled as a rookie, changing shots on defense, while being a force on the pick and roll and in post-up situations offensively. Real Plus-Minus loved his defensive contributions as a rookie, giving him a score of 4.02, fourth among centers.
Jokic is another animal entirely, showcasing a complete game offensively, including passing skills that Michael Malone has compared to Magic Johnson, per Nate Timmons of BSN Denver. Jokic is more likely to fit as the necessary piece because of his skill set offensively. Hoiberg can maximize his talents by giving him he ball every possession or using his capable three-point shot as a weapon to take the man guarding him outside of the lane.
The Nuggets check all of the boxes in a deal that other teams either can’t or won’t do. Chicago would get their choice of center to pair with Harris, one of Gallinari or Faried, and two high quality first round picks. If I’m Hoiberg and Gar Forman, the Bulls’ General Manager, I agree with the Nuggets on the following deal:
This would be a very potent offer for one of the best wings in the NBA, but it doesn’t handicap the Nuggets as much as it looks.
With so much cap space and now two high quality players in Gallinari and Butler in Denver, the Nuggets have the beginnings of a new free agent destination. The reports out of Denver are all positive regarding the culture that Malone has instilled, and the players are all competing and gearing up to win.
Would a player like Al Horford or Pau Gasol be interested in filling out the starting five as the power forward of the present or future? Even if it was Ryan Anderson, the Nuggets have options to fill out the starting five given the huge cap jump.
A trade of the aforementioned pieces for Jimmy Butler in this scenario would give the Nuggets a payroll of $63.9 million in 2016-17, with the cap set to increase to $89 million, according to USA Today. That leaves over $25 million for the Nuggets to throw a max contract at any of the aforementioned players if they deem it necessary.
Now, imagine the following depth chart:
Point Guard: Emmanuel Mudiay, D.J. Augustin (re-signed), Jameer Nelson
Shooting Guard: Jimmy Butler, Will Barton
Small Forward: Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler
Power Forward: Al Horford, Darrell Arthur (player option)
Center: Jusuf Nurkic, Joffrey Lauvergne
This doesn’t include the non-guaranteed contracts of JaKarr Sampson or Alex Toupane (not to mention the other two potential 2016 draft picks the Nuggets have), but overall, the roster is positioned with players that can perform well in various roles. Mudiay has the pressure taken off of him by a new first option in Jimmy Butler.
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Gallinari and Horford alternate being the second option on offense, as neither needs the ball in their hands the entire possession to make an impact. Both can catch-and-shoot, screen for the ball-handler, and then isolate or facilitate for others when the need arises. Nurkic becomes the rim protector and organizer of chaos on the defensive end, and he wouldn’t be required to create offense in this scenario, as the rest of the four starters should have that task covered.
A roster akin to the one referenced above has a very high ceiling, even in the Western Conference. With the high caliber talent of Butler and Horford coming over from the East, the Nuggets would be expected to not only make the playoffs, but win at least one playoff series.
This is the kind of power move that general manager Tim Connelly should be looking to do with all of his trade assets. There are very few opportunities to trade for a star of Butler’s level, and the Nuggets were one of the last teams to experience such a deal in the Carmelo Anthony debacle, so they should understand the importance of making a power play to upgrade the roster.
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Overall, the Nuggets can go a number of directions this offseason, and if the opportunity presents itself, they should explore dealing for high caliber options on offense. Jimmy Butler is the perfect player to slide in between Mudiay and Gallinari for the next half-decade, and if he’s made available by the Bulls, Tim Connelly should be the first general manager to call.