NBA: Winners and losers from the Jimmy Butler trade

Philadelphia have made a thunderous splash in the trade pool with their unexpected acquisition of Jimmy Butler from Minnesota two days ago. The 76ers swung for the fences to land the four-time all-star; Philly exchanged Dario Saric, Robert Covington, Jerryd Bayless and a future second-round pick to acquire Butler along with Justin Patton from Minnesota.

Butler's exit comes several weeks after a public trade request away from Minnesota, largely due to clashes with star players Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins.

The situation in Minnesota had become ugly when Butler reportedly requested a trade in mid-September, and it worsened when he refused to report to training camp. The ongoing drama reached its pinnacle when Butler finally did report for pre-season training, only to team up with the third-stringers to take down his fellow starters in dominant fashion.

Towns and Wiggins were the targets of his continuous emotional trash talk, while he barked towards anyone who would listen that the team needed him. Following the practice - which will rank as one of the all-time greatest unseen NBA practices along with the Dream Team in Monte Carlo, Gilbert Arenas pulling a gun from his locker, and dozens of others - he had arranged a televised sit-down interview with Rachel Nichols, host of ESPN's The Jump,primarily to talk about the practice.

Butler arranged to discuss this polarising practice before it had even happened; was he that confident he could wipe the floor with Towns, Wiggins, and the starters? He spoke honestly with Nichols about the situation from his point of view, and declared that he didn't think the relationship would be fixed with the Wolves.

The 76ers are the clear winners of the trade even though Butler isn't signed on past this season, but who are the other winners and losers after a trade which has created a ripple effect on the entire league?

Winner: Philadelphia

Oklahoma City Thunder v Philadelphia 76ers

The 76ers have become the best team in the Eastern Conference with this mega-trade. It was a tight competition with Toronto and Boston before the deal, but the addition of Butler gives Philly an edge over their division rivals.

Philly have played a high-risk, high-reward game with this transaction. Butler is on an expiring deal and never openly expressed an interest in being traded to the 76ers, but an optimistic front office in Philly know that Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons will be well-suited teammates for Butler and they can entice him to stay in the city of brotherly love past this season. The risk is obvious, but the reward could be a championship before their two star players have even entered their prime.

Some will question Philadelphia's motive to open their championship window right now rather than waiting for Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid to play their prime years with Saric and Markelle Fultz, which would coincide with the end of the Warriors' reign. The league is littered with 'what if' stories. Young cores with championship potential often explode or implode one way or another, and sometimes the team just has to try and win whenever it's ready, even if that happens to be years earlier than expected.

Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden looked like a sure thing to eventually win a championship together after losing in the 2012 finals all aged 23 or younger. So did Penny Hardaway and Shaq after losing in the 1995 finals both aged 23 or younger. So did Derrick Rose's Bulls in 2011 when he was the youngest MVP in league history.

Embiid and Simmons are 24 and 22 years old respectively and could theoretically compete for championships for the next eight to ten years, but Embiid's injury history has to be of some concern, while any number of other unforeseen circumstances could pop up and derail the team at any moment, just as it did to OKC, Orlando, Chicago, and so many others.

Embiid is one serious injury away from having his career threatened, Simmons has dated Kendall Jenner but managed to avoid the Kardashian Curse so far, Embiid's twitter-fingers have landed him in trouble before, and just a few months ago the Bryan Colangelo burner account saga played out in front of our eyes.

This young team has seen no shortage of drama, and there look to be several avenues to this core potentially collapsing. We don't want to see it, but the possibility is always there; making the high-risk play now is just good sense for Philly. If the Butler era doesn't work out, they can still fall back on their young dynamic duo and they might be lucky enough to get a second championship window if their stars can stay healthy and drama-free.

Conversely, a high-risk trade like this has been known to work in the past. A third-year Dwyane Wade was able to deliver a championship to Miami in 2006 thanks to the team's willingness to trade high-priced assets including a young Lamar Odom and a first-round pick for Shaquille O'Neal, who was ageing but still dominant.

Wade wasn't in his prime yet, but he was ready to win if he had another star next to him. Miami bought low on a disgruntled Shaq from Los Angeles, altered their timeline for Wade, and won the championship earlier than anyone could have expected.

Butler will fit perfectly with Philly's lineup as a defensive superstar across multiple positions, and a low-usage offensive weapon. Embiid and Simmons will still get plenty of shots, and Butler's underrated passing skill-set and improved three-point shot will make them a better team than they were before the trade. The position-fluidity on both ends of the floor in a late-game lineup headlined by Embiid, Simmons, Butler and JJ Redick will be tough to guard, even for Golden State.

Loser: Markelle Fultz

Fultz is one of the biggest losers for now as he is buried in the 76ers' pecking order. He will never come close to reaching his full potential as the fourth or fifth best player on his team, and he is already looking unlikely to reach that potential after his disastrous and peculiar rookie season. He already isn't playing crunch time minutes, and that is even more unlikely to change with Butler's arrival.

The silver lining for Fultz is that the 76ers truly are in win-now mode, which means he holds more value to them as a trade asset than he does as a rotation piece. Whether they admit it or not, the 76ers will try and trade Fultz before the February deadline to make an even more established run at this year's championship.

A trade would be the best thing for the former number one overall pick, especially to a destination which will feature him heavily in their offence and rotation in order to get his career trajectory back on track. For now, he will be trapped as a role player on a team that would be better off without him.

Winner: Chicago

The Bulls are one of the big winners, albeit indirectly. They initially gave Butler to Minnesota along with pick 16 in the 2017 draft, which the Wolves would ironically use to draft Justin Patton who was again traded with Butler two days ago. In return, the Bulls received two young stars in Zach Lavine and Kris Dunn, and Minnesota's seventh overall pick, which would become Lauri Markkanen. The Wolves thought they could afford to part with young assets and valuable draft picks to land a two-way star to pair with Towns.

While the latest Butler trade doesn't directly impact the Bulls, it must be extra sweet for them to see the Wolves lose Butler for less than they did. The Bulls lost a superstar when they lost Butler, but they received a lot of talent in return for a player who wanted out. The Wolves, on the other hand, received no valuable draft picks and more than likely two non-all-stars.

Loser: Minnesota

Golden State Warriors v Minnesota Timberwolves

The Timberwolves are the biggest losers here, as they effectively received 30 cents on the dollar for this trade. Butler's public exit would always make it difficult for the team to find an appropriate offer, but to lose an All-NBA and All-Defensive player and only receive back role players and no first-round draft picks is a disaster.

Covington is a nice three-and-D player, and Saric's ceiling could be (but probably won't be) an all-star, but neither player comes close to replacing the void left by Butler.

The loss of Butler will sting Minnesota for a long time, not just because they have lost a superstar, but because they know they would have been better having never traded for him. It wasn't a bad decision for the Wolves to trade for Butler at the time, they just weren't able to make it work, and that has set them back a long way in a relentless Western Conference.

Now they have to move on from the short but eventful Jimmy Butler era. The Wolves will go back to playing through Towns and partly Wiggins as they re-shift their focus to building around their two young stars.

While Saric and Covington won't directly fill Butler's empty locker, they will fit nicely with the Wolves. Minnesota rank 27th in the league in field goal percentage and 15th in three-point field goal percentage, they will benefit greatly from the acquisitions of two accurate shooters with deep range.

Covington is connecting on 39% of his three-point attempts this year; Saric has only shot at a 30% clip from three this season, but he made 39.3% of his three-point attempts last season and shot 50.1% from inside the arc. Both Covington and Saric have been streaky when shooting the ball this year, but a change of scenery and play style might just suit them.

The pair won't just aide the Wolves' shooting problems, they each have multiple dimensions to their game. Covington was selected to the all-defensive first team last season; he is a perimeter nightmare who can guard point guards, stretch forwards, and everything in between. He is a perfect fit in the modern NBA and he is a match-winner when his shot is falling. His work on the defensive end will allow the Wolves to switch freely against screens and chase opponents off the three-point line.

Saric won't help much on the defensive end, but he is a fine all-around offensive player. He can hit open shots, creates his own shot inside the three-point arc, and makes smart passes often. His ability to score inside and outside will be important for the Wolves who will be able to play him next to another inside and outside threat in Karl-Anthony Towns - the floor spacing has the potential to be magnificent for this squad.

It's not a great prize to show for trading a player who has been an all-star in each of his last four seasons, but maybe the former 76ers players can redeem the Wolves' front office.

Winner: Andrew Wiggins

Minnesota Timberwolves v San Antonio Spurs

Butler put Wiggins in a complete state of arrested development during his time in Minnesota. The 2014 number one overall pick started his career steadily but has failed to develop much since his rookie season. His clashes with Butler made it hard for him to improve as a player, but he now has the opportunity to regain the one-two punch with Towns that will put fear into the league if they can succeed.

Wiggins' struggles started before the arrival of Butler, and it is more than likely he will still make the exact same errors now with Butler gone. However, better team and individual morale will aide Wiggins, who will love the new environment in the Minnesota locker room.

The important thing is, Wiggins has his shot to prove that he can be a dominant scorer, and a capable Robin to Towns' Batman. He got paid the max-contract he wanted last summer, and he owes it to the Wolves to play his best basketball.

Wiggins' situation is better with Butler gone, but his 'draft bust' or 'waste of talent' tags that are starting to stick won't shed unless the man once dubbed 'Maple Jordan' performs well on the court. He's getting close to his last chance.

Loser: Eastern Conference Rivals

Especially Boston, Toronto, and Milwaukee. There's not much else to say here, but it's important to be said. The 76ers are the team to beat now, it's no longer about Kyrie and Boston, Kawhi and Toronto, or the Greek Freak and the Bucks. Eastern Conference opponents will have a difficult time trying to stop this versatile and talented Philly lineup.

Philadelphia have three bona fide superstars in their lineup, no other Eastern Conference team can say that, nor can any Western Conference team besides Golden State. Philly now have all the talent they need to compete, and plenty of time to figure out their best lineups and rotations before the playoffs.

Even with everything in place for them to succeed already, Philly are hungry to be even better, and that is exactly what will happen if they decide to go all in and trade Fultz

The process continues, and the next goal in the NBA finals.

Edited by Victor R. Lopez M.