Los Angeles Lakers: Realistic tier 2 free agents to target
By Ethan Temkin
Jimmy Butler
The arguments against signing a player like Butler are valid. He’s approaching age 30 and will be looking for a max-contract — these two factors are usually a recipe for disaster. On the other hand, Butler is one of the hardest working players in the league; a bulldog on the defensive end, and is a dynamite off-ball player and slasher.
The pros for signing Butler are this; he provides the Lakers with a secondary ball-handler and creator and if his minutes are properly staggered with LeBron James, it would allow the team to have an elite scorer and play-maker on the floor at all times.
On the surface Butler’s numbers aren’t all that impressive, coming off a tumultuous season that saw him traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Philadelphia 76ers. As a result, he went from a 1st/2nd option, averaging 21.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.3 assists to a 3rd/4th option where his numbers dipped slightly to 18.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and four assists.
But for Butler, it’s not the raw numbers that entice me, it’s the intangibles he can bring to the Lakers.
On a 76ers team that featured elite talent in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, when crunch-time arrived, the ball always seemed to wind up in Butler’s hands, with the team trusting him to make the big plays — and most of the time he delivered. Simply put, Jimmy just has a winning mentality, which I know sounds a lot like “coach-speak”, but his energy on the floor has a trickle-down effect on his teammates, motivating them to match his intensity.
What makes Jimmy such a great player isn’t the fact that he’s elite in certain aspects of the game, it’s that he’s solid at nearly every aspect of the game. His 3-point shooting isn’t incredible, at 34% this past season, but he knocks them down when it counts. He’s not a LeBron-level playmaker, but the offense can still run though him. He’s not All-Defense caliber player, but will still take the challenge at guarding the other team’s best wing.
When it comes down to it, I want the Lakers to sign players who are going to give it their all when they’re on the court, and Jimmy Butler is easily one of the few players who can do that.