The Philadelphia 76ers showed their sense of urgency to lead the race for the empty throne in the Eastern Conference by swinging a trade for All-Star forward Jimmy Butler on Saturday, one that became official on Monday and soon a part of the everyday reality.
With Butler comes the addition of a proven two-way player, capable of putting the emphasis on defense and team play, along with the veteran leadership to make this team a legitimate contender, one coach Brett Brown hopes is the case for a long time.
“Maybe [Butler is] the first move in the new reality that our goal is to build for a championship, and play in the NBA Finals, and continue to be an annual — and that's always the hardest thing — contender,” Brown, according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps. “I think we are building a core, truly, with their ages, that is going to have the ability to do that. We are going to have the ability to do that for a while now.
“We'll be amongst royalty for a while now. So if you refer to that as sort of the first phase of the legitimate process, I think that's fair.”
Jimmy Butler will also bring the demands of his coach trotting out the best starting lineup possible, likely putting an end to his experiment to start Markelle Fultz at shooting guard while boasting a weapon like J.J. Redick who can make a difference.
Brown is caught between fulfilling his promise to develop Fultz this season and doing what is best for an aspiring team — a decision he will have to make quickly before things implode in the locker room.
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