NBA Trade Rumors: Exploring the clearest path every team with interest can land Jimmy Butler ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline.
As the temperature continues to rise revolving around a potential trade of Jimmy Butler, we're officially on high alert as we begin to close in on the NBA Trade Deadline. It's officially less than two months away and if a deal is going to happen, you'd have to imagine that the Miami Heat is already beginning to make strong preparations by talking to multiple teams with interest across the league.
Over the past few weeks, there have been as many as seven teams linked to Jimmy via multiple reporters. As we get closer to the trade deadline, that number could end up rising I would imagine - especially as word gets out about the real asking price that may be out there. In this article, we're going to take a hard look at each team that has at least some reported interest in Jimmy and explore what a deal could end up looking like. We begin with one young team that could view themselves as a Jimmy trade away from winning a championship this season.
Oklahoma City Thunder
It hasn't been shouted out from the mountaintops by many of the mainstream NBA reporters but there have been some whispers that the Oklahoma City Thunder could emerge as a potential suitor for Jimmy Butler ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline. Would the Thunder want to jump into a huge bidding war? I find it hard to imagine but if he could be had for cheap, perhaps it's a possibility that the team should end up exploring.
In this deal, the Thunder would send Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe, Kenrich Williams, Ousmane Dieng, and a future first-round pick to the Heat for Jimmy and Pelle Larsson. In an attempt to land a star player to help push this team over the top, this could be viewed as a worthy all-in move for this season. How much better it would make them remains to be seen but Jimmy would certainly give the team an added closer next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
For the Heat, adding a young and talented player like Dort could be worth this move. Another first-round pick would give the team more flexibility when it comes to their tradable draft capital as well. There are reasons why this deal could end up working for both sides in the short term.