Getty Jimmy Butler of the Philadelphia 76ers gestures during Game Five of the second round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs.
By now you should know that the Lakers made a splash for superstar free agent Anthony Davis. While losing some key young pieces in the process, the Lakers obtained an otherworldly talent and to quote those cheesy Men in Black commercials, a “basketball alien”. Standing 6’11” with an incredible combination of wingspan and fluid athleticism, Davis is able to get up over the best of rim protectors while having the handles of a guard.
The Lakers are still trying to make a play to bring in another max contract free agent and create a three-headed monster in Los Angeles. Kemba Walker has been thrown around as well as Jimmy Butler, who just happened to like a picture of LeBron James and Anthony Davis immediately after the trade.
Jimmy Butler Likes Picture of Lakers LeBron James and Anthony Davis
Jimmy Butler hasn’t had a ton of news coming out regarding his free agency plans. The Philadelphia 76ers are planning to offer him a max contract to stay, however, Butler’s camp hasn’t given any indication which way he is leaning. The Lakers have had reported interest in Butler for some time and he was recently seen in Los Angeles on multiple occasions. Liking the picture of James and Davis could be nothing, or as we saw with Brandon Ingram’s Instagram story from earlier today, it could mean everything.
Outside of that, things are relatively quiet on the Jimmy Butler front and a potential pairing of Butler, James, and Davis could be utterly devastating from a defensive standpoint alone. On the offensive side, the James-Davis pick and roll would be a deadly mix and when you factor in Butler as an outlet who can take his man off the dribble and get his own look, they can run a nearly unstoppable offense centered around those three.
How Does Jimmy Butler Fit on the Lakers
Expanding off that last part a bit, Butler would be an extremely interesting fit alongside Davis and James. Offensively, he complements LeBron well as all the best LeBron teams featured a secondary shot creator (Wade, Irving) who LeBron could rely on to help consistently lighten the load. Butler certainly fits that mold as an elite one on one player and someone who the LeBron could consistently trust to go create his own bucket.
Defensively, Butler gives the Lakers a swarming presence on the wing and can guard either the two or three, allowing the Lakers to hide LeBron from some of the league’s better small forwards and allow him to focus mainly on creating on offense – the thing he does best.