Utah Jazz: How will Jimmy Butler trade impact division rival, Eastern Conference nemesis?

The Utah Jazz’s division rival Minnesota Timberwolves and East rival Philadelphia 76ers engaged in a blockbuster deal that sent Jimmy Butler to Philly.

Shockwaves were sent throughout the NBA on Saturday as it was announced that the Minnesota Timberwolves had finally parted ways with disgruntled star Jimmy Butler, sending him to the Philadelphia 76ers along with Justin Patton in exchange for Dario Saric, Robert Covington, Jerryd Bayless and a 2022 second-round draft pick. This was a big-time story as Butler had clearly expressed disinterest in Minnesota and now has a new home on a rising squad in the East.

Obviously, the Utah Jazz weren’t directly involved in this trade in any fashion, however, it will impact them as it changes the dynamic for both their division rival Minnesota Timberwolves in the West and for one of their Eastern Conference rivals, the Philadelphia 76ers. Between the Donovan Mitchell–Ben Simmons debate and the fact that both Philly and Utah are on similar trajectories to becoming elite teams, these two share a fun rivalry that should become all the more daunting with Jimmy in Philly’s ranks.

Not only that, but Utah will actually visit the Sixers on Friday in what figures to be Butler’s second game with the team, assuming he starts with them on Wednesday against Orlando as has been presumed. With such a drastic change taking place, let’s take a look at how this deal impacts both teams that have relevance to the Jazz.

First of all, while it always stings to lose an All-Star and elite talent like Jimmy Butler, I honestly think the Wolves got better for their troubles. That improvement doesn’t necessarily come on paper, but in terms of chemistry, energy and focus, it’s going to make a huge difference. The Wolves appeared as dysfunctional as could be with Jimmy Butler essentially picking and choosing when he was going to play and his teammates clearly acting flustered with the situation.

Now that Butler is out, the Wolves can simply turn over a new leaf and enjoy a clean slate. They’ve dug themselves into somewhat of a discouraging hole, beginning the year at 4-9, good for second to last in the Western Conference, but it’s still plenty early to dig themselves out. Now that the drama-charged Jimmy Butler situation has been resolved, I expect we’ll see a burden lifted off the shoulders of Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, and that they’ll both play with a lot more ease and confidence.

Considering that those two are and always have been Minnesota’s future, that’s a good thing that they’ll be able to get back into a more comfortable situation for them that will ideally lead to heightened results.

The addition of Saric and Covington should be positive for the Timberwolves as well. Both are hard-working players that excel in their respective roles and should be nice pieces for Minnesota. Both can space the floor effectively, and Covington should help Minnesota have a solid defensive option on the perimeter. Not only that, but Minnesota has long struggled with depth, and adding both those players could remedy that situation.

While I believe moving on from Butler was absolutely the right decision for the Timberwolves, unfortunately it probably won’t make them nearly as daunting of an opponent overall this season. I could see Minnesota bouncing back and finding more success as a team now that the cancer has been removed from their roster, but at the same time, the Wolves have struggled mightily without Jimmy’s scoring and defense.

With him off the team, they won’t be nearly as daunting for opponents, and while mentally they’ll be in a better spot, I’m not so sure they’ll have the talent to compete in a deep West. If the Wolves do improve, that’s just one more scary opponent the Utah Jazz will have to deal with in their division. However, if the departure of Butler leads to a mediocre Wolves team this season, it could turn out to be a big break.

Meanwhile, on paper the Philadelphia 76ers are getting much better. Whenever you have the chance to trade for a legitimate All-Star on both ends of the floor, you typically do what it takes to land him. Philly gave up some nice pieces for Butler, but it was likely worth the risk. He’s a relentless competitor, an awesome scorer and an elite wing defender.

If potentials are maximized in Philly, Butler will make this an absolutely elite squad. However, I must admit that I also have some concerns about how this will all pan out. First of all, Butler’s new teammate Joel Embiid is similar to him in that they both have extremely strong personalities. Both want to be the ‘alpha dog’ and considering that each of Embiid, Butler and Simmons play most effectively with the ball in their hands, there could certainly be some issues both in terms of attitude and play style.

It will be interesting to see whether Embiid and Butler’s passion for winning and gritty mentality mesh or backfire. Their ability to jive could very well be the deciding factor on whether or not Philly’s new Big Three works or not.

The other concern the Sixers face is that they were already just 22nd in the NBA in 3-point percentage and now they’ve traded away two of their most reliable deep threats in Robert Covington and Dario Saric. They’d already parted ways with Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli who were key perimeter threats last season, and now with Saric and Covington gone, this could be a harsh blow.

Saric shot over 39 percent from deep a season ago and Covington was off to a career-best 39 percent from deep start this season. Meanwhile, while Jimmy Butler is an elite player, he’s reputed as just a mediocre 3-point shooter with a career mark of 34.1 percent. In other words, the Sixers could really run into some major spacing issues moving forward.

We already saw this to some extent last season even when they had shooters due to the well-known fact that Ben Simmons is timid (and that’s putting it lightly) to ever pull-up from three. Now, with no Saric or Covington to stretch the floor and Jimmy being less than terrifying from distance, the Sixers may find themselves lacking the space and room to operate that both Simmons and Butler desperately need.

If that lack of shooting and space becomes a reality, the Sixers may become easier to defend than they’d like to admit and it could crush their now sky-high dreams of being the best team in the Eastern Conference.

For what it’s worth, I think that Jimmy Butler will be a force for Philly and that his drive to win will at least initially mesh well with Embiid and Simmons. However, I think spacing will be a real concern, and I still believe that the Sixers will find themselves falling short of the top spot in the East with the likes of the Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics and perhaps even the Milwaukee Bucks around to challenge them.

As Butler and the Sixers look to adjust to one another in their early time together, I think the Jazz will come out victorious when they face the new-look Philly squad this Friday. As time goes by, though, the Sixers may prove to be the better team this year, but it all depends on how Butler fits in terms of personality and play style, and how the Sixers now cope with their reduced depth and spacing.

The game this upcoming Friday against the Philadelphia 76ers was always going to be a fun one as we’d get to see Donovan Mitchell and Ben Simmons go head-to-head as well as Rudy Gobert and Joel Embiid. Now throw Jimmy Butler into the mix, and it’s bound to be a hard-fought and toughly-contested bout.

The animosity, dislike and competitiveness between the Philadelphia 76ers and Utah Jazz are probably all about to increase significantly. And I’m all here for it. Expect both this Friday’s contest and the later matchup against Philly in Salt Lake on December 27th to be absolute thrills.