The Orlando Magic have a crucial offseason ahead. According to a new report, an answer to their problems may be Chicago Bulls All-Star guard Jimmy Butler.
There is no question the Orlando Magic roster could look vastly different by the end of the summer. With copious amounts of cap room, the Magic are looking to make a big splash. They seemingly will explore every option to end this four-year Playoff drought in 2017.
An interesting name to ponder in the Magic’s ongoing quest to find a superstar to lead their group of young talent could be Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler.
Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports’ The Vertical had a report last night about Fred Hoiberg‘s less-than-stellar debut coaching season with the Chicago Bulls. In it, he also chronicled a rocky relationship that Hoiberg has had with Butler.
"Grumblings range from Hoiberg’s inability to hold players accountable – a complaint registered publicly by Butler last December and one that lingers in the locker room today, a source said – to Butler’s shoddy shot selection to the disconnect within the team offensively."
More interestingly, Mannix speculates on potential landing spots for the All-Star guard should the relationship continue to deteriorate.
In the mind of some NBA front office types, Orlando stands squarely in the mix of teams that could acquire Butler’s services this offseason.
"Indeed, no one is untouchable. The palace intrigue that surrounded Butler and Hoiberg prompted several teams to inquire about Butler’s availability at the trade deadline. Though they were rebuffed, several rival executives told The Vertical they intend to try again. Boston was among the teams trying to pry away Butler in February, and several executives point to Orlando, with its treasure trove of young players and defensive-minded head coach, as a team to watch closely in the pursuit of Butler."
This is not the first time we have heard the Magic and Butler spoken about in the same breath. The Orlando-based sports talk show “The Community Sports Report” had an initial accounting of discussions between Orlando and Chicago right before the trade deadline.
Breaking News: Source close to #Magic informs CSR that they recently turned down an offer centered around Chicago's Jimmy Butler.
— CommunitySportReport (@CSROrlando) February 12, 2016
They also said the Bulls asked for Victor Oladipo, a first round pick, and another player in the deal for Butler. According to their sources, Orlando turned this proposal down and nothing materialized any further from the initial talks.
Certainly with the flux of pieces on the Magic roster, talks would heat up again this summer if their was interest from the Bulls side. It may not make a whole lot of sense to trade away a player who has turned into the face of the franchise, but many could not find reason in Chicago’s front office parting ways with head coach Tom Thibodeau at the end of last season either.
Oladipo may come up in talks again for Butler seeing that both players have similar skill sets and occupy the same space on the floor. A sign-and-trade deal involving impending restricted free agent Evan Fournier could be a possibility too.
Plus if the Magic are able to acquire a more defensive-oriented big in free agency, a la the Atlanta Hawks Al Horford, the option of centering any deal around Nikola Vucevic becomes intriguing.
And Butler is the kind of All-Star talent that big-name free agents might be more willing to flock to.
Next: The Orlando Magic are eliminated from the playoffs, now what?
With the amount of machinations that appear to exist in Orlando’s offseason, anything is possible. Now it appears, Butler at least has to be added to that list as a possibility.