Fortunes change quickly in the NBA. It may seem like a decade ago, but it was only July 2017 when Kyrie Irving was still a Cleveland Cavalier, patiently awaiting to find out who his second professional franchise would be after requesting a trade from the organization that made him the No. 1 overall pick in 2011.
Irving ultimately was dealt to the Boston Celtics in a move that rocked the core of the league, even if its ramifications are barely being felt in November 2019. The centerpiece of the deal, Irving, has moved on from the Celtics, and Isaiah Thomas, the main cog heading to the Cavaliers, has played for two other franchises since.
But what if the Chicago Bulls had opted not to deal Jimmy Butler on the night of the 2017 NBA Draft? You may not think that these two events are connected, but rarely does the NBA dabble in the singularity of events.
The story goes that Irving, who won the NBA championship in 2016 alongside LeBron James, wanted his own spotlight and chance at superstardom. He got that with his deal to the Celtics and has seen it through during his first year with the Brooklyn Nets.
But at the time, he appeared ready to acquiesce that he would share the spotlight if it meant playing alongside Butler. Another star at a crossroads with the only organization that he had ever known, Butler was moved to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a blockbuster deal. The rewards the Bulls reaped — Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn — have not had immediate immense benefits, but with Butler having been on three teams in the past 12 months, it's unknown how long they would have been able to retain his services.
Irving reportedly thought joining Butler would be a venture he would be interested in. The duo would have had close proximity to James and the Cleveland squad that Irving was departing from, yet Chicago chose to go in a drastically different direction, winning only 27 games in 2017-18 before accruing just 22 in '18-19. Rather than the duo of LaVine/Markkanen leading the franchise, they could be entering Year 3 of the Irving/Butler experiment.
There have been manufactured superstar tandems popping up all over the league recently — James/Anthony Davis with the Lakers, Paul George/Kawhi Leonard with the Clippers, Irving/Kevin Durant with the Nets — yet time will tell if any will be able to bring a championship to their squad. Players mingling during the offseason has yielded tenuous results at times and has never been a direct path to the NBA Finals, but it has also given fans the teams of the Heat and Warriors dynasties, respectively.
Now, Kyrie Irving roams the backcourt in Brooklyn, a star on his own for this year while Kevin Durant rehabs a torn Achilles. Jimmy Butler inked a massive deal to become the man in South Beach, years after three stars joined together to create magic in Miami. Invariably, the two will collide in competition as the Bulls watch on and wonder what the franchise could have looked like with both donning red and black.
Follow Us
Subscribe