NBA Trade Rumors: Celtics Could Offer Jaylen Brown And Marcus Smart For Jimmy Butler, Per ‘Fadeaway World’
A month before the 2018-19 NBA season starts, fans are already making their own predictions on who will fully dominate the East and Western Conferences and take home the 2019 NBA championship title. In the recent betting odds released by Westgate Las Vegas Superbook, the Boston Celtics emerged as the top favorite to challenge the reigning NBA champions, the Golden State Warriors, in the 2019 NBA Finals.
It’s not a surprise why the Celtics are expected to be the new ruler of the LeBron James-less Eastern Conference. After reaching the Eastern Conference finals with the help of their young core, both Celtics superstars, Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, will return 100 percent healthy next season. The starting lineup featuring Irving, Jaylen Brown, Hayward, Jayson Tatum, and Al Horford will undeniably be a huge headache to every opposing team.
However, according to Fadeaway World, the Celtics should consider adding another legitimate NBA superstar to their roster in order to strengthen their chance of beating the Warriors in a best-of-seven series. Fadeaway World suggested that the Celtics could target Jimmy Butler of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“Let’s face it, even though the Celtics are the favorites to get the Finals from the East they still can’t match up with the Warriors who have added DeMarcus Cousins. Even the combination of Irving, Hayward, Tatum and Horford along with Rozier and Brown isn’t good enough to get the job done. The Celtics need another superstar that goes along with their supreme defensive identity. Jimmy Butler is the perfect fit. A trade for Butler involving Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart would the Wolves a very talented SG and a defensive stopper in Smart.”
Jimmy Butler will be an incredible addition to the Celtics. His potential acquisition will boost the Celtics’ performance on both ends of the floor. In 59 games he played last season, the 28-year-old shooting guard averaged 22.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 2.0 steals on 47.4 percent shooting from the field and 35 percent from beyond the arc.
Butler will not only give the Celtics a reliable scoring option behind Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, but the All-Star guard can also be tasked to defend the opposing team’s best player. Aside from increasing their chance of beating the Warriors, trading for Butler before the February NBA trade deadline will also lessen the risk of losing Kyrie Irving in the 2019 NBA free agency. In the past months, rumors and speculations continue to swirl that Butler and Irving want to play together in one team.
Parting ways with one of their young core, Jaylen Brown, will definitely be worth it for the Celtics if it could help them put an end to the Warriors’ dynasty and start their own. Once the Timberwolves officially make Jimmy Butler on the trading block, expect the Celtics to pull the trigger.
