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NBA Courtside: Dillon Brooks says he would want to Box Jimmy Butler 👀 “Jimmy Butler. It’s all about basketball for sure. But I feel like some things went to far. I always feel the animosity”
They lobbied him on the Hall of Fame spectacle of linking up with Curry, their veteran-friendly environment, an ability to hike his salary up toward the $15.1 million nontaxpayer mid-level exception and the proximity to family. There was even a back-channel exploration from James, league sources said, about the feasibility of zipping back and forth to Southern California various times during the NBA calendar, as Green and Jimmy Butler occasionally do.
So LeBron chose the 76ers, and the Warriors are left to wonder what might have been. Should they have tried to trade Jimmy Butler and draft picks for Anthony Davis? At summer league in Las Vegas, a small contingent of Golden State’s front office pushed for that path, but AD’s injury history and desire for a new extension ultimately convinced team brass to stay put.
Danny Emerman: "It could be really interesting to see how he comes back from that knee injury. I've heard that he's targeting, as early as Christmas, who knows how his rehab turns out. That is something that's obviously subject to change. If he comes back and he looks awesome, the Warriors might not want to trade him. They really love Jimmy Butler. And from what I've been told behind the scenes, they've constantly reassured him and his camp that they don't want to trade him, that they're committed to him."
Draymond Green: "I've also seen that Mike Dunleavy and Joe Lacob have gotten a lot of criticism for their lack of risk taking over the last few years, playing it for the post-Steph era. And listen, there's always going to be backlash when you're not winning. It happens to everyone. That's just what comes with the territory. But I don't think going to trade for Jimmy Butler would be considered lack of taking risks, especially signing him to a two-year $121 million extension. I don't think that would be considered a lack of taking risk. I also don't believe that trading for Dennis Schroeder, trying to make something happen, is a lack of taking risk."
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The big swings for Jimmy Butler III, James Harden and Paul George never got Philadelphia out of the second round of the playoffs. Former No. 1 pick Ben Simmons is out of the league. MVP center Joel Embiid is on the wrong side of 30 with knees that will need close, careful management for the rest of his career and a virtually immovable contract that has swelled to over $60 million a season. "The Process is over," one NBA coach told ESPN. "This needs to be the product. They need to finish this thing. The Sixers have done this for a long time with Embiid and it's go time."
That was his fate on Jan. 19, when Butler tore his ACL, then reiterated on March 23, when Moody tore his left patellar tendon. “And you hope that they both come back healthy,” Stephen Curry said, “and we can play at a level that keeps us relevant and competitive and builds a foundation so that we can figure out what it looks like. But that is the situation. We don’t live in any alternative universe.”
ESPN's Anthony Slater provided an update on Jimmy Butler's recovery from ACL surgery during Wednesday's episode of "NBA Today," relaying what people close to the Warriors forward have observed in recent weeks. "I've talked to people that have been around Jimmy Butler recently," Slater said. "They say he's a little over five months from the ACL surgery. He's turned the corner a little bit in the last few weeks. He still can't run unrestricted -- sprint in a full line -- but they feel like he's making progress."
"There's probably an unfair burden being put on him to come back in that January-February range and boost them midseason, considering he's 37 [36, will be 37 in Sept.]," Slater said. "But he's a really confident individual. He's extension-eligible in February, so there's some personal motivation. He'll be an unrestricted free agent next summer."
Anthony Slater: I've talked to people that been have been around Jimmy Butler recently. And they say he's about a little over five months from the ACL surgery. He's turned the corner a little bit in the last few weeks. You know, he still can't run, sprint in a full line, but they feel like he's making progress and there's probably an unfair burden being put on him to come back in the January, February range, 11-12 months, and boost them mid-season considering he's 37. But he's a really confident individual. He is extension eligible in February. So there's some personal motivation. He'll be an unrestricted free agent next summer. I talked to him last month. I think we may have a quote right here coming up. But he's basically again as confident as ever saying he expects to come back as the same player that he was when he left. And if you think about it, you mentioned I think they were on like a 12-2 run over 14 games. And he was averaging 20 a game.
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NBA Courtside: Grant Hill on Jaylen Brown not being on the USA team: “When I announced then team, there were certain guys that I called before Woj and Shams broke it. And I called like Lillard, I called Jimmy Butler, I tried to call everybody because you never know when they’re going to break it. And you want to give guys the respect to hear it from me. I called Jaylen. We had a great conversation. Unbelievable conversation. And so something got lost there. And the implication that like a shoe company like to me that, look you guys can criticize my leadership. You can criticize the ability to put together a roster. When you’re in a role that I’m in, you open yourself up to criticism and I accept that. But to imply that like a shoe company told me what to do. Now you questioning my character, and that was the things that was weird.” (Via @RoadTrippinShow)
Heat Central: Bobby Portis explains what led to the face off with Spo and Udonis Haslem 💀 “Quite honest what I remember? Jimmy Butler was kicking our…. I can’t even say the bad word…. I remember coming here game 4 up 16 with 9 minutes left… then this guy just goes into straight flow state… Game 5 comes and I’m trying to fire my team up. Right after the timeout UD came up to me and got in my face which is kind of funny I’m here now.”
“I remember when I got into it with Poole… I remember one person when the Jordan Poole incident happened with me who was really, really outspoken about it, and it really bothered me, was Udonis Haslem,” Draymond Green said. “I saw Udonis Haslem get into it with guys on teams that was younger than him before. Ala Jimmy Butler. Then he came out like, ‘That’s ridiculous! You get into it with your young guy I would never. I can’t believe you did that…' So when I first saw this, I was like damn. This is two young guys Udonis Haslem has raised. If you raised this young guy in the light of what you was saying about me, and now he punches this other young guy, that y’all kind of co-raised, are you going to have that same energy?”
Udonis Haslem: @Money23Green I see some things just don’t change. lol. You was on sucka shit four years ago when you swung on Jordan Poole and you on sucka shit now. I usually don’t engage but since you went so far left to get my attention here it is!!! If you think your big 32 year old, 3 or 4 rings at the time having ass swinging on a 23 year old Jordan Poole at the time is the same then you are even more delusional that I thought.
