Boston doesn't want to see Jimmy in the playoffs.
The Boston Celtics got the job done last season. After years of falling short, they finally brought home Banner 18 to TD Garden. And they did it in dominant fashion. Nobody they squared off against in the postseason, outside of the Indiana Pacers, gave them a real fight, and the Celtics swept them in the Eastern Conference finals.
For as amazing as Boston’s run was, they didn’t have to face any of their usual foes. Most notably, Jimmy Butler wasn’t available to play in the Celtics’ first-round matchup with the Miami Heat. The very guy who knocked them out of the playoffs a year earlier wasn’t there. And now, though the Heat may not be a huge threat, Butler still looms large.
And a Celtics nightmare has the potential to become a reality.
Jimmy Butler staying in the East would be a nightmare for the Celtics
Butler's time in Miami is coming to a close. He officially requested a trade away from the Heat, noting that he'd rather play literally anywhere else outside of Miami.
Though it seems more likely that Butler will get traded to a Western Conference team based on the situations and finances around the league, there’s still a chance he stays in the East. And if that happens, Boston would be less than pleased.
Butler has been the Celtics’ biggest playoff killer of the last five years, and if he lands on a team that they could end up facing in the postseason, there’s a chance that reality could happen again.
The Milwaukee Bucks may be the most frightening team Butler could end up on. They are a second-apron team right now, so they cannot trade for him without making other moves first. However, if they find a way to dump Pat Connaughton’s salary, they could technically find a way to make a Butler deal work (however unlikely it is).
Other teams in the East that could make it work include the Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons, and Indiana Pacers, but again, all of those situations are imperfect.
Orlando is so injured that they may rather do nothing until their guys come back, the Pistons probably don’t want to rush anything, and the Pacers would have to gut their depth to trade for Butler.
Still, if they or any other teams in the East feel any inclination to trade for Butler, there’s a chance Boston could see that squad in the playoffs. And as Butler proved just a couple of years ago, Play-In teams can be just as dangerous as playoff teams.
It may not be super likely that Butler ends up in the East, but if he does, the Celtics could be seeing ghosts come playoff time, no matter what jersey he’s wearing.
