With all the power in the NBA shifting even more to the Western Conference, there’s a huge void over in the east. It’s a void that Kyrie Irving and Jimmy Butler reportedly would like to fill as teammates on a superteam of their own.
Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports these two superstars want to figure out a way to make it happen.
“A league source close to the situation told the Sun-Times on Tuesday that Kyrie Irving and former Bulls All-Star Jimmy Butler are still trying to figure out a way to play together. Whether that means the Celtics try and acquire Butler this summer or the two simply wait a year, both opt out of their player options after the season, and join forces that way.”
It’s worth mentioning that Cowley also reports Butler isn’t at all interested in signing an extension with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and that the biggest reason for that is he’s sick of Karl-Anthony Towns (more on that here).
Based on the way Danny Ainge has focused on youth, and based on the simple fact that the Boston Celtics already have perimeter stars in Gordon Hayward and the young Jaylen Brown, it seems like Butler and Irving might need to look elsewhere to assemble their superteam.
Then again, if Irving and Butler were really serious about winning, money aside, Boston is the place to make that happen.
As many have noted, the Celtics are the best remaining team in the east now that LeBron James moved out west. The Philadelphia 76ers and Indiana Pacers are contenders, but Boston has all the clout right now.