If the Phoenix Suns are expecting Jimmy Butler to be their savior, they're going to be greatly disappointed.
As the NBA Trade Deadline quickly draws near, there may not be many certainties of what may or may not happen over the next two weeks. However, with how the narrative has evolved over the last month, one move I'm pretty confident in taking place is the long-rumored Jimmy Butler to the Phoenix Suns deal. I'm not sure how it will happen, who exactly will be involved, or when it will actually take place but, at this point, I'd be shocked if Jimmy wasn't a Sun before the deadline.
Assuming that the move is going to happen, there's a strong expectation that Jimmy is going to come in and change everything for the Suns - the culture, environment, and the look of the team. While that may be true to a certain extent, there's one part, arguably the most important aspect of it all, that I don't expect Jimmy to change - the overall outlook and standing of the team. In other words, if the Suns are expecting Jimmy to be the savior of the franchise, they're going to be disappointed.
Why Jimmy Butler is not the hero the Phoenix Suns believe he will be
Jimmy is a good player. I'd even allow you to say that he's still a great player still at this point in his career. Sure. However, he's not going to be the huge difference-maker or upgrade over Bradley Beal that the Suns are hoping he can be. Not at this point in his career.
Over the past two seasons, Jimmy has seen Father Time slowly creep up on him. His production has taken a dip and, perhaps most importantly, so has his availability. For a player who has battled injuries for a good portion of his career, he's become even more susceptible to injuries of late. For a team that has a ton riding on this one specific move, this could quickly turn into a huge disaster.
I'm not saying Jimmy is going to get hurt but that has to be a gamble the Suns are taking into consideration. But even if Jimmy remains healthy and even if he does emerge as a great fit for the team next to Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, the Suns are still going to have some real issues that the acquisition of Jimmy can't fix alone.
The Suns are still going to have their depth concerns. They're still going to be one of the worst defensive teams in the league. While Jimmy has a MO of being one of the best two-way stars in the league, he's fallen off quite a bit on the defensive end of the floor over the past two seasons. In fact, the argument could be made that the biggest downturns in his game are most evident defensively.
The Suns are still going to have a long run up the West standings during the second half of the season. Phoenix is five games out of a top 4 seed in the conference. While that may not seem like a lot, it is when there are only 30-ish games left in the season, which will be the case by the time the NBA Trade Deadline comes and goes.
It's been a pretty all around disastrous first half of the season for the Suns. For as enticing as a trade for Jimmy sounds or may look on paper, I find it hard to believe it's going to have the ultimate impact that the team is hoping it does. Jimmy is not going to be the savior the Suns believe he can be.