NBA Draft 2016: 5 players who could be traded on draft day
By Tom West
2. Jimmy Butler
A superstar trade happening in the 2016 NBA Draft isn’t inevitable by any means. One could easily not happen at all. However, a superstar trade is a possibility that can’t be totally ignored, at least when someone who has appeared in trade rumors in recent months is in question.
After emerging as an All-Star in 2014-15 when his offensive game took an unbelievable leap forward, Jimmy Butler looked like the new face of the Chicago Bulls. Derrick Rose’s health is always a concern, and no one sparked the offense and provided stellar defense like Butler.
Yet, due to supposed personal issues with Rose and the Bulls’ fall to only ninth in the Eastern Conference this year, facing possible depletion in free agency (there’s a fair chance both Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah leave), the murmur of Butler being traded for new assets has emerged.
And it just so happens that the team with the 3rd overall pick is in the market for a superstar.
Not even Danny Ainge knows what will happen with that pick, though. Nevertheless, Chris Mannix reported for CSNNE that it will bring a high return:
"“I think if Boston dangle that pick, they are going to have a lot of people call to come get it… If Boston does want to get in the mix for one of the premier players that could be available on the trade market, there is going to be a very rich price. It’s going to be that No. 3 overall pick plus a couple of extra players that are going to make it unpalatable for the Celtics to want to swallow that type of deal.”"
It won’t be remotely easy for Boston, but Mannix added a crucial final statement: “I think Jimmy Butler is going to be available.”
We can’t know what the Celtics will do with that pick until draft night. Dragan Bender, Kris Dunn, Jamal Murray and even Buddy Hield on occasion are names that you’ll see appear at No. 3 for the Celtics, but the other possibility that remains is whether Ainge looks to accelerate the team’s rise up the East by combining the pick with some of his other many assets for a star.
Their trade deadline target Al Horford is now a free agent and may address their frontcourt situation if they sign him, but Butler is the ideal target to bolster the perimeter at both ends and take the offensive load off Isaiah Thomas.
It makes sense for the Celtics. Yes, acquiring an elite prospect is intriguing, but most top players in their range are guards (not 6’8″ wings like Butler) and they already have plenty, because someone like Bender will arrive with the need to be developed, which doesn’t help the Celtics become a more serious playoff threat. Not to mention, they’re loaded with seven other picks (two first-rounders) to make something happen with more youth in this draft, too. They can’t keep them all.
So, with this in mind, which player could the Celtics part with to complete a trade package for the No. 3 pick?
Next: Marcus Smart