NBA: Winners and losers from the Jimmy Butler trade

Cleveland Cavaliers v Minnesota Timberwolves
Cleveland Cavaliers v Minnesota Timberwolves

Loser: Markelle Fultz

Boston Celtics v Philadelphia 76ers
Boston Celtics v Philadelphia 76ers

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.

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