All offseason long, the San Antonio Spurs have been urged to make a move. NBA mock trades have heavily featured Keldon Johnson, Luke Kornet, and especially De’Aaron Fox. Barring a shocking move, it seems that the roster will remain intact.
That hasn’t stopped fans from going nuts. Modern tools, like trade machines, allow fans to create and share their most inspired and fantastical deals. Fortunately, that data is public.
It makes for good content.
HoopsHype reported that Golden State Warriors’ forward Jimmy Butler has been the most common mock trade fixture as of late. His most frequent destinations? Washington, Phoenix, and San Antonio. It seems Spurs fans want an added dose of intensity. They want some nasty.
Now, on paper, any trade for Butler is insane. He’s 37 years old and currently rehabbing a torn ACL. For all we know, his career could pretty much be over.
Then again, it’s the dog days of the offseason. Maybe the armchair GMs are onto something.
Why NBA Mock Trade for Jimmy Butler Makes Sense
If the Spurs were to make a deal for Butler, De’Aaron Fox would surely be included in the trade. Fox is about to start the first season of a four-year maximum contract. Butler, on the other hand, is set to hit free agency after this season.
There’s no guarantee that Butler will play at all this season. Last year, before his injury, he posted 20 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game. He was still an elite defender and shot 37.6 percent from 3-point range. On paper, that’s exactly the sort of secondary or tertiary creator and defender the Spurs could use.
So why would the Warriors give him up for Fox? Simple: Butler is not going to play. At least, not for most of the season. A torn ACL takes around a calendar year to recover from. The Warriors aren’t guaranteed to make the playoffs and need as many durable players as possible. Fox isn’t the best fit next to Stephen Curry, but he can drive and kick. Critically, his health is reliable.
The Spurs, meanwhile, are virtually locks to make the playoffs. Imagine, for a second, a starting lineup of Victor Wembanyama, Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, Tobias Harris, and Devin Vassell. Keldon Johnson, Julian Champagnie, Carter Bryant, and Luke Kornet would lead the bench unit. That’s a 55-win team or so.
And then, in the postseason, either Harris or Vassell would be moved to the bench in favor of Butler, who should be back in shape by then. “Playoff Jimmy” is one of the most intense players in the NBA. A spurned Wembanyama paired with Butler would be the scariest duo in the NBA.
Plus, there’s no long-term commitment. Butler will be a free agent, and the Spurs could re-sign him on a one-year deal, or simply let him walk. It’s only a matter of time before the Spurs have to trade Fox to make financial room for Castle and Harper’s extension. They could bite the bullet now and get one of the league’s most notorious playoff risers.
The Spurs make this deal to improve their ceiling in the postseason. The Warriors make this deal just to get to the playoffs. A one-for-one swap works. Does it make sense, or is this just offseason lunacy? Given that around 0.5 percent of all mock trades send Butler to the Spurs, maybe the fans are onto something.
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