I have spoken before about how the NBA has empowered it players to speak out publicly, and this has usually proven to be a good thing. However, sometimes it has not been, and we might be seeing an example of that in Philadelphia right now. The 76ers motto for years now has been "trust the process." What that basically entailed was multiple years of obvious tanking in order to secure high draft picks with the idea that the accumulation of a lot of young talent would eventually lead to success.
You can say what you want about whether or not that is good for the game, but over a three year stretch, Philadelphia had a record of 47-199. That is good for a .191 winning percentage, and it was by far the worst in the league over that span. It did allow them to select at or near the top of the draft for several years, and now is when the results of the process were supposed to be showing.
The team selected Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, two players who are centerpieces of the current team, but they also drafted Jahlil Okafor, who is now playing in Brooklyn, and Markelle Fultz, who has all kinds of problems, and is honestly in contention for one of the biggest draft busts ever, although that could still change. So, the plan to tank did indeed work, but turning all of those years of failure into success has not happened yet.
The team is still very young for the most part though, and they are coming off a nice year in 2018. They are currently 25-14, and three games behind Milwaukee for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, so they are certainly much improved. Part of the plan for this process was to be able to use all of their young talent to lure one or more big name free agents to Philadelphia, and the biggest name they could have asked for was LeBron James. I do believe that James probably did consider going to Philadelphia, but in the end, he ended up in Los Angeles. Even so, the 76ers were recently able to add Jimmy Butler in a trade with Minnesota, and while he is not on the level of James, he is still a talented player who the team planned would give them a boost in the race for the Eastern Conference crown.
Butler has had a pretty good career in Chicago and Minnesota, and has made multiple All-Star teams, while also winning the league's Most Improved Player award in 2015. Not a multiple time MVP and champion like James, but still worthy of moving the needle in terms of the standings. One problem with Butler though, is he has not been known as a teammate who fits in smoothly wherever he plays. It was the case in Chicago after a few years there, and it was also the case in his short stay in Minnesota. Now, it seems like that trend is continuing in Philadelphia.
The threesome of Butler, Embiid, and Simmons was worthy of excitement when Philadelphia made the move to get Butler from Minnesota. All three had different skill sets, and it seemed as though the 76ers were legitimate contenders in the East, and maybe even frontrunners. You can never really predict chemistry on a team though, and despite the talents of all three of those players, they do all have various weaknesses as well, and it seems like somewhat of a reticence by Butler to completely adapt his game to fit in with the rest of the team might be turning into something of a problem, and his biggest weakness.
Recent reports surfaced that Butler challenged 76ers coach Brett Brown on his role in the offense, and things may not be all fun and games behind the scenes in Philadelphia. Butler and Embiid are two strong personalities, and they may not be meshing perfectly on and off the court. The organization and head coach Brett Brown have tried to downplay Butler's claims, and they still remain steadfast in saying that they want Butler to re-sign with the team after this year and be a 76er for a long time. For now that might be nice, but if the team does not live up to expectations this season, I'm not sure this will all work out.
Embiid has a very strong personality and is more than willing to speak his mind about pretty much anything and everything. I'm not a huge fan of it, but he is confident in himself and his abilities, so I can't fault him for that. The lack of shooting prowess of Simmons is well known, but he does a lot of other things on the court that make him and his teammates better. Butler does many things well, but I am starting to wonder whether or not he is worth the trouble that seems to follow him.
Butler rose from a relatively unknown player to stardom in Chicago, but late in his career there, he publicly criticized some of his teammates and was fined and benched because of it. He wasn't exactly universally liked by the rest of his team when he left the Bulls to join the Timberwolves, but both sides moved on.
The addition of Butler to his former coach Tom Thibodeau's team in Minnesota to play with a young and talented group of players placed high expectations on the team, and they failed to live up to them, losing to the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs last year. However, the team was still young and growing, and it seemed like better times might be ahead. Then, at the beginning of this season, Butler expressed displeasure with his situation in Minnesota, and said he would not re-sign with the team in the summer of 2019. Therefore, Butler's short stay with the Timberwolves ended as he was traded to Philadelphia. He had left Chicago under questionable terms, and talked his way out of Minnesota in a short period of time.
Now, it seems like he is struggling to adjust to life in Philadelphia as well. So, my question is this: What is Butler's problem? Minnesota underachieved last year, and it didn't take Butler long to try to get out of there. They traded him to a better team in a weaker conference, and it seemed like, for better or worse, his frustrations had gotten him into a better situation. Yet, it has only taken a short time for him to seemingly fail to fit in again.
Good players on championship teams are able to adapt. Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant put aside differences to win multiple titles with the Lakers. Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and LeBron James all made sacrifices on and off the court to mesh in Miami and win two titles. Kevin Durant did the same when he went to Golden State, and it has paid off for him. Not only is Butler not on the level of any of those guys in terms of talent, but it seems like he is much less willing to make sacrifices in the name of making his team better on the court.
76ers fans have been subjected to a lot of losing over the past decade. Brett Brown does not get enough credit for being a very good head coach. He was stuck with little to nothing on his roster, but he stuck in there, "trusted the process," and has a pretty successful team now. They undeniably made some missteps in the draft with Okafor and Fultz, but the 76ers are still contenders in the Eastern Conference. Many of the guys on that team have lost together and grown together over the past few seasons. They have all made sacrifices.
If Butler wants to fit in with this team, it is on him to be able to make some changes to his game. It isn't like they are asking him to sit on the bench and only play 10 minutes per night. The team acquired him with the idea that he would step right in and help them improve. If he has problems with the way the team is being coached or how he is being used, then that is on him.
I am reminded of Rajon Rondo when I see how Butler is acting right now. Rondo is a talented player, but he has been known to wear out his welcome in places throughout the league. When he did win a title, he had Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, all veterans and future Hall of Famers on his team. They were the alpha personalities, and Rondo was forced to fall in line. He did, and he has a championship ring because of it.
The difference here is Rondo was the young player on that Boston team. The 76ers brought in Butler because he was good, but also because it seemed like he might bring a veteran presence to the locker room and be able to step up as a leader. Criticizing the coach and the system of the team is not something that leaders do publicly though, and it doesn't seem like Butler understands that.
He got himself dealt out of a situation he didn't like to join a contender. This is seemingly what he wanted to happen, and he made it happen. If he fails now because of his own attitude and unwillingness to make some changes both on and off the court, then I am past the point of blaming other things around him. If he can't succeed where he is now, then I think we have to point the finger at him and wonder whether or not he will ever be able to change and experience success at the highest level in the NBA.
Daily Rangers Update: After allowing 7 goals to Pittsburgh, the Rangers followed that up by allowing 6 on the road to Colorado last night. I'm not sure a goaltender gives up 6 goals but is still the best player on the ice for his team very often, but that was the case for Alexander Georgiev yesterday. He got no help from the team in front of him, as it was a constant stream of penalties and poor defense that gave Colorado an easy win. Hopefully the team can recover tomorrow night, when they will be in Arizona to play a bad Coyotes team.
Daily Giants/NFL Playoff Update: Nothing new on the Giants front, but the first playoff games start today and I will be cheering for the Cowboys to lose. Aside from that, I hope we get some good games this weekend.
Daily NBA Update: You hear almost nothing about the Indiana Pacers, but following another win last night, they currently have a record of 26-12, and actually have a better record than Golden State. We still have more than half the season to play, but I think it is time to start mentioning them as real contenders in the Eastern Conference.
No comments:
Post a Comment