Jimmy Butler traded to Philadelphia 76ers: What does it mean for the Raptors

Jimmy Butler has finally been traded by Minnesota, to division rival Philadelphia 76ers. What does this mean for the Toronto Raptors.

According to Shams Charnia of the Athletic, the Philadelphia 76ers have traded for star Minnesota Timberwolves swingman Jimmy Butler.

The 76ers gave up Dario Saric, Robert Covington, a 2022 second round pick and Jerryd Bayless in exchange for Jimmy Butler and Justin Patton.

This is a solid move for both teams.

The 76ers got much better with this trade and now look like legitimate contenders in the Eastern conference once again.

They now sport the most talented ‘big three’ in the East and have someone to defend the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard in potential playoff meetings. In the midst of his best season field goal percentage wise, Butler is a major boost to a talented but inexperienced core of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.

The Timberwolves lost some star power in this deal in exchange for upside role players but this is a rock solid trade as far as fit goes. Thirteen games into the season, sitting at a 4-9 record with Jimmy promising to sit out whenever he felt like it, the Timberwolves finally had enough and jettisoned the malcontent to the Eastern conference and the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Timberwolves are loaded on talent, already boasting two of the most talented players in the NBA at their respective positions, in Karl Anthony-Towns and Andrew Wiggins. As we all witnessed last year, the inclusion of an alpha star, especially one as rugged and hard nosed as Jimmy Butler, was a poor fit beside two ‘softer’ players who are still coming into their own.

This move allows the Wolves young core max contract players to once again assume the reins of the team going forward and return to their projected development track.

Reaction

As a basketball fan, my first reaction was ‘finally’. As a Toronto Raptors fan, my first reaction was ‘oh no’.

After the news came out about Jimmy Butler’s exploits with Karl Anthony-Towns’ now ex, I thought his days were numbered.

When Jimmy Butler went off at practice and led an expletive filled rout of the Timberwolves second unit over the first, I thought to myself ‘this has to be it’.

What does this mean for the Toronto Raptors?

The Philadelphia 76ers got a lot better with the acquisition of Jimmy Butler.

How much better or where Philly now stands is up for a heated discourse which will take place over the next 69 regular season games. They now have a much improved team that can potentially make some noise in the playoffs.

What this trade means for the Toronto Raptors on the surface is easy to discern.

What Raptors fans once thought was a two team race to the Eastern conference finals is now a legit four teams, with the 76ers joining the surprising Milwaukee Bucks as contenders to make it out of the East.

The Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics remain more complete teams than the 76ers in terms of overall talent one through twelve, but the 76ers now boast three all star level players in their starting lineup in Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Jimmy Butler, giving them the slight edge over the Raptors in that regard.

The Toronto Raptors are no longer ‘guaranteed’ an Eastern conference finals berth and will take that into account moving forward.

This move also signals to Raptors fans and hopefully to management as well that the arms race in the Eastern conference has just begun.

The Toronto Raptors cannot rest on their laurels despite the scintillating start to the season that has the entire country buzzing and has a record number of fans tuning in to watch Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors.

Luckily for Toronto Raptors fans Masai Ujiri is not one who will be making knee jerk reactions to any happenings in the NBA, including one of our biggest threats adding one of the top players in the NBA. Rest assured that Masai will be taking the temperature of the trade market and listening to all calls up until the trade deadline in February, but do not be surprised if Masai decides to stand pat absent  a commitment from Kawhi to stay in Toronto long term.

The Raptors are all-in this season and while trading off assets for a Finals push would seem to make sense on paper, it would have to be the right move for the organization. Masai will not mortgage our future while we are still dealing with uncertainty in regards to retaining the team’s best player.

The Toronto Raptors best response to the Philadelphia 76ers stunning acquisition may indeed be to believe in the team already assembled.