Jimmy Butler is expected to decline his player option with the Philadelphia 76ers for 2019-20 and become a free agent this summer, which should not come as a surprise to anyone.

However, if the 76ers want to re-sign him, they might have to be prepared to deal with a pretty big threat from out West.

According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the Los Angeles Lakers have genuine interest in signing Butler this offseason, which could set up a potential trio of Butler, LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Of course, we can't get too far ahead of ourselves, but the Lakers are in talks with the New Orleans Pelicans for Davis, and if they do end up acquiring him and then signing Butler, they would then have a very formidable starting five.

Butler spent 10 games with the Minnesota Timberwolves this past season before being dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers, as the Timberwolves honored his trade question.

In 65 contests overall, Butler averaged 18.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, four assists and 1.9 steals over 33.6 minutes per game while shooting 46.2 percent from the floor, 34.7 percent from three-point range and 85.5 percent from the free-throw line.

The 29-year-old, who played his collegiate basketball at Marquette, was originally selected by the Chicago Bulls in the first round (30th pick overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft.

He went on to spend the first six seasons of his career with the Bulls, making three All-Star teams. He was then traded to Minnesota during the summer of 2017 and spent all of one season with the Timberwolves before demanding a trade.