The Whiteboard: 5 big questions for Jimmy Butler, Cam Johnson, these rookies and more

The Whiteboard is FanSided's daily NBA email newsletter with each daily edition written by a different member of our team — Matt Moore, Wes Goldberg, Chris Kline, Lior Lampert, Quinn Everts and Ian Levy. On Saturday, we all get together for one big roundtable to answer the biggest questions of the week.

Here's what we're talking about today:

At this point, is Jimmy Butler an anti-hero or a villain? Bonus question — match him with a villain or anti-hero from a show or movie you’ve watched recently.

Matt Moore: Anti-Villain? That’s probably the best way to describe it. Because he’s not a hero, and yet people want to root for him. He’s a symbol of ruthless self-confidence and toxic self-belief. 

People have a strong craving for self-empowerment. “Yeah, I did this. Why? Because #@*% you, that’s why.” Butler symbolizes an ability to make things happen by sheer will and in doing so reject anyone else’s standards. It wasn’t that he was a bad teammate, it was that Chicago, and then Minnesota, and then Philadelphia were all too weak to get on his level. 

But ultimately, you don’t want to go to work with someone who’s a jerk, no matter how successful they are. And the second that your ability to be best in class above everyone else slips even a little bit, no one’s going to want to work with you anymore. 

He’s Walter White from “Breaking Bad.” Smart, ruthless, convinced he’s the good guy and just doing what he has to even as he spirals further away. You think he’s the one who gets traded? He’s the one who gets himself traded! 

Lior Lampert: Jimmy Butler has embraced the villain role, similar to Livia Soprano from The Sopranos.

Butler and Livia are two peas in a pod. They each bite the hand that feeds them. The latter was dangerously manipulative, even trying to use her guilt-tripping powers to have her brother-in-law turn on and kill her son. Mrs. Soprano didn't smile until Tony caught her red-handed for what she did, and the former is giving off the same energy.

Until Butler's demands are met (a trade to the Suns), he will pout and make life difficult for Miami while pulling the victim card. The Heat wing is oddly comfortable with being uncomfortable and exploiting his star power to get his way.

Wes Goldberg: He’s a straight-up villain, but one that is ridiculously entertaining because you never know his next move. Will he dye his hair? Wear another team’s jersey or colorways? Will he tell the assembled media that he can no longer find joy? 

Butler has said that he likes the attention. That much has been made clear. But he doesn’t do it for the attention. His ruthless self-belief is at the same time grating and inspiring. Like Kanye West. There are times when he can make something beautiful, there are other times that make you cringe.

Butler might tell you he’s the Joker (the villain, not the Serbian) but that’s too simple. The Joker wants chaos for the sake of chaos. Butler wants chaos, but to create a better tomorrow – or at least the tomorrow that is better for him. He’s more like Magneto: Convinced that half the population just isn’t good enough, or doesn’t understand.

Quinn Everts: Jimmy Butler is a true villain – he’s Lorne Malvo from season one of Fargo, except instead of killing people, he just … misses flights and gets mad at his boss. The principle is the same, though; both Butler and Malvo act like there are no consequences to whatever they say or do. Maybe Malvo knew that everything would come crashing down on him in the end, but he was going to wild out while he had the chance, and that’s what Butler is doing right now.

“Being traded to the Phoenix Suns” is kind of the NBA equivalent of everything coming crashing down, but I’m not sure he realizes that yet. Does he think playing for the Suns is a reward? Or is he a masochist? That would explain the 3:30 AM workouts from years past…

Christopher Kline: Speaking as a long-suffering Philadelphia 76ers fan … anti-hero feels like the right designation. Rooting for Jimmy Butler was an absolute joy and his departure was more about a front office rife with incompetence than him. Other fanbases might have different takes on the matter, of course. But Butler has a history of elevating his performance in the playoffs and competing hard on both ends of the floor. When he asks out — and creates a scene — it’s normally because his current team is failing him. For the House of the Dragon fans out there, Jimmy has real Daemon Targaryen energy. 

Who is the third-best team in the Eastern Conference?

Matt Moore: I want to say Orlando, because for the brief nanosecond they were healthy, the offense looked substantially improved and the defense is still ferocious. But ultimately I think the injuries have taken too much out of them. Role players who aren’t built for this many minutes have had to play them and they just might never get rhythm. 

I’ll go with New York, even with their being 20th in schedule-adjusted defense. They’re built to defend a certain way which is more applicable in the playoffs and the offense is still great even if it’s cooled off. Milwaukee’s right there, though. 

Lior Lampert: The Knicks, by default. Despite their defensive shortcomings, they boast the NBA's fifth-best net rating (plus-6.2), buoyed by the team's elite offense.

However, New York is notably 12-13 versus teams .500 or above, which is a massive concern. Everyone has a winning record (or they should, at least) when you get to the playoffs. Beating up on inferior opponents and handling business is nice, but so is stacking up against your perceived weight class.

The Bucks and Pacers aren't far behind. Milwaukee has done it before and still has arguably the best player in the world, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Indiana beat the Knicks to reach the Eastern Conference Finals last season and has found their stride after a rough start to the 2024-25 campaign.

While defense has been an issue, the Knicks have the personnel along the wings needed to win a best-of-seven postseason series. Plus, their two-headed snake of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns is as lethal as any in the Association.’

Wes Goldberg: (Looks around)

It might be the Bucks?

They are third in the East in net rating over the last 15 games, and that’s with Giannis and Dame missing time. Their offense has been good, but it’s really been the defense that has stepped up. They’re third in defensive rating during that stretch. They aren’t that stout defensively, but they’ve climbed into the top 10 for the season. That’s about right.

At their best, the Bucks have an unstoppable force and MVP candidate to carry them on offense and a defense that gets the job done. The Nuggets used that formula to win the 2023 championship. Not saying the Bucks are darkhorse contenders to make the Finals … but with a few good breaks…

Quinn Everts: I have to say the Knicks; although I trust about 1.5 players on that bench in a playoff scenario (Deuce McBride and Landry Shamet three days a week), I think the Knicks’ overall talent level keeps them about level with Cleveland and Boston in the East.

How close are Milwaukee and Indiana? Probably closer than it appears, but I’m not ready to take either over the Knicks. If Tyrese Haliburton gets back to “borderline All-NBA Tyrese Haliburton” then we might have a conversation … but for now, simply good Tyrese Haliburton doesn’t get the Pacers over the hump.

Christopher Kline: The Knicks by default, sure. The Magic have a strong case at full health, if that is ever achieved, and the Bucks are the beneficiaries of immense star power from Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. Milwaukee started the season slow, but Giannis is the best player in the conference and a good chunk of that roster has experience winning at the highest level. 

If Milwaukee can pull the right strings at the trade deadline, whether it’s facilitating a Jimmy Butler trade or trading for the man himself, don’t be shocked when the Bucks yank this crown away from New York. You can’t win championships with a leaky defense. We all saw this coming, to a certain extent, when the Karl-Anthony Towns trade went down. The Knicks are an electric offense, but generating enough stops to win deep into the playoffs will be a challenge. 

Most disappointing rookie performance so far this season?

Matt Moore: Yes? All of the above? Mark all that apply? It’s hard to blame Risacher when expectations were low and it’s not his fault that DeAndre Hunter made a leap at the worst time for him. 

I’ll go with Reed Sheppard, even though he too is largely a victim of being drafted to a team stacked with young talent. But he’s just been unable to crack the rotation and has spent time in the G League (which is good for him). I thought he was the best player in the draft and he might be, but there’s just nothing to speak of for his season. 

Lior Lampert: I'm with Matt on this one. The entire 2024 rookie class has been a disappointment, and the numbers bear that out.

As Jacob Sutton mentioned in Quinn's The Broken Press Substack, no rookie has a plus-1 or better Box Plus-Minus that's appeared in at least 20 games. 

Sutton puts it into perspective by noting that at least one rookie had a plus-1 or better BPM every season since 1973-74. Somehow, this group of newcomers has been worse than advertised.

Wes Goldberg: Beyond the good points and advanced stats that my colleagues have already brought to the table, I might also point out that this rookie class is about as fun to watch as cereal decomposing in milk. 

Did you know that the No. 1 and No. 2 picks played each other three times already this season and none of those games were on national TV?

Quick, top of your head, do you even know who the top two picks are?

Quinn Everts: Is it unfair to say Dalton Knecht here? Of course, Knecht isn’t disappointing in a “he’s bad” sense — he’s good, in fact — but I’m disappointed that his scorching stretch in November was just a mirage. Knecht scored in double-digits seven times during November alone and has done so just seven times since then. But one of those times was on Thursday against Boston, so … heater coming?

Knecht is a rookie on a team with a bunch of veterans, so I’m not blaming him for cooling off. But the best version of Knecht is such a good fit on these Lakers that I hope he can find his stride again.   

Christopher Kline: Jared McCain because he got hurt. 

Okay, not really. As everyone else has said, this rookie class … kind of stinks! It’s fine, though. Patience is a virtue and so forth. Zaccharie Risacher has obviously underperformed relative to No. 1 pick standards, but I could’ve told you that when the pick was made. I’m not sure he has underperformed relative to my expectations. Personal confession here, I expected a bit more from Zach Edey out of the gate. He’s been good — one of the best in his class, in fact — but Memphis has not been able to fully remove the training wheels with Edey. He is still finding his way. Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham are blatantly very good players who just aren’t getting minutes. I’m more disappointed in the coaches. 

Who needs Cam Johnson the most? What’s the best situation for him?

Matt Moore: Oklahoma City. The Thunder have a billion picks to spare. Johnson would be another cog so that in matchups where he’s useful he can thrive and when he’s not he doesn’t have to play. That’s the ideal situation for him. He doesn’t have enough offensive pop for Orlando and he doesn’t save the Warriors. OKC would make the most out of his talents. 

Lior Lampert: To me, these are different questions. Not every team that needs Cam Johnson may be his ideal landing spot, so let's break this response into two parts.

Johnson's combination of age, team-friendly contract and skill set have made him a hot commodity ahead of this year's trade deadline. He can slot into any lineup and fit beautifully because of his size, shooting ability and secondary shot creation. But operating as the fourth or fifth option on a contender is the best situation for him in a perfect world.

With that in mind, two options stick out: The Cavaliers and Pacers.

Indiana needs size along the wings. Despite logging 85 percent of his minutes at the forward spots, Bennedict Mathurin is a shooting guard. He's also not a particularly good defender and doesn't always play within the flow of the Pacers' offense. Johnson would be a seamless replacement for the Arizona product in the starting five and a considerable upgrade.

Cleveland has been tied to Johnson, though no deal is imminent as of this writing. Nonetheless, he'd instantly fill the one weak spot in their starting lineup, replacing the Isaac Okoro/Dean Wade makeshift tandem.

Wes Goldberg: The Nets! I get that they are sellers, but is it really worth demolishing the house down to the dirt? Cam Johnson is good, but not good enough to steer the team away from the No. 1 pick. He’s on a decent contract that the Nets shouldn’t be in a hurry to move. And he fits with anyone. 

The Nets are going to want to surround their top pick with some good players, right? Johnson has more use to the Nets longterm than the 20-something pick in the draft.

Quinn Everts: I’m with Wes on this one! I said earlier this year that Brooklyn shouldn’t assume that trading Johnson is the best and only outcome and I stand by that … with that being said, if any team really does offer two first-round picks, there’s no reason to hang up the phone too quickly. 

If he has to go somewhere, put Johnson on Sacramento — why not! The Kings deserve to win a playoff series and Johnson would provide a massive lift toward that goal. They played Doug McDermott in closing time tonight, for goodness sake. He actually hit five 3s, but … I wouldn’t count on that nightly.

Christopher Kline: I’m with Matt on the OKC front. That is a perfect fit on both ends, and the Thunder are better equipped than any other team to meet Brooklyn’s asking price without selling the farm. If there is a weakness for the Thunder team, it’s 3-point volume. Johnson can chuck 3s, defend his position well enough, and benefit from OKC’s roster full of rim-pressure guards and willing playmakers.

The Kings are also a strong spot, though. Johnson would be a nice connective piece between De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, and Sacramento is under pressure to convince Fox to stick around long term. Johnson can help now and for years to come. 

Peak Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Peak Tracy McGrady — who ya’ got?

Matt Moore: T-Mac. For as great as Shai is, T-Mac did all that in an era with tougher defense and worse spacing. He would have ruined teams with modern medical science and training, modern spacing, and modern playstyle. He would have been unthinkably great and is one of the few players who were great then and would be even better now. He’d average something like 30-8-6 on 46-43 splits now. 

Lior Lampert: As someone who was only a wee lad for the prime T-Mac years, I didn't get the chance to enjoy his greatness. But I've been fortunate enough to reach an age where I can appreciate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's excellence.

Both were/are perennial MVP candidates at the height of their powers, but McGrady never came as close to winning the award as SGA. While that may speak to the level of competition they each faced, it also illustrates the latter's status as an upper-echelon superstar.

Gilgeous-Alexander earned more first-place MVP votes last season (15) than T-Mac did in his six years on the ballot combined (11). Moreover, the latter didn't make it out of the first round of the playoffs in any of those six seasons. The latter has already led the Thunder to the brink of the Western Conference Finals, and OKC is heavily favored to represent the West in the title this season.

Stats aren't the only way to measure a player's dominance, and Gilgeous-Alexander's achievements already exceed McGrady's at their respective pinnacles.

Wes Goldberg: Tracy McGrady was both ahead of his time and of the previous era. He was a shimmy-and-shake, mid-range assassin like Michael Jordan (even drawing MJ comparisons), but he doesn’t get enough credit for stepping out beyond the 3-point line when he did.

McGrady’s best season, 2002-03, he averaged 32.1 points per game. Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 32 now. Both marks are league-leading. But here’s the big difference: The next top scorer is averaging half a point less than Gilgeous-Alexander. When McGrady was putting up 32.1 points, nobody else was within 2 points of him. He was, by far, the most dominant scorer in the league.

He was also shooting six 3-pointers per game. Only Antoine Walker and Ray Allen were taking more. McGrady didn’t discriminate against any area on the court. He was a bucket-getter, in the purest sense of the word.

Gilgeous-Alexander, to me, has risen to be the best 1-on-1 scorer in the game. He’s scoring on 51.5 percent of his 6.8 isolation possessions per game. Nobody else comes close to that efficiency on that volume.

I’ll go McGrady for now, but I want to see how the rest of this season plays out. Surpassing prime McGrady isn’t off the table.

Quinn Everts: This is a fascinating question because at Shai’s current peak, I can really appreciate the unique greatness he brings to an NBA court by watching him play, diving into his impact numbers, dissecting what makes him great from an Xs and Os standpoint, etc. 

At T-Mac’s peak, I was in my underwear recreating plays I saw on TV on my mini basketball hoop in the living room until my mom said it was bedtime. So, a slightly different relationship with the league. But as a kid, all NBA players are larger than life, so I’m giving the edge to T-Mac because my five-year-old brain thought he was a God among men. Looking at his stats from an era of often agonizing offensive basketball shows that I may have been onto something …

Christopher Kline: I, too, am a victim of the generational gap here. T-Mac is a fond, foggy memory, whereas Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is on my television every other night, his career unfolding in real time. What makes SGA special, beyond the incredible scoring metrics and absurd iso skills, is his defense. He is quite possibly the best perimeter defender in the NBA — a one-man wrecking crew on the perimeter with sticky hands and impeccable instincts, making the best use of his Stretch Armstrong wingspan. OKC is loaded with plus defenders, which means Shai can get lost in the shuffle a bit, but carrying his offensive workload and putting together a DPOY-worthy campaign at the same time is hard, especially for a point guard.

T-Mac was on Shai’s level as an all-time great offensive force, but Shai’s two-way excellence (and sure, maybe some recency bias) has me siding with him.