Are the Sixers trying to lowball Jimmy Butler? | Bob Ford

The moment of truth for perhaps the most important phase of the Sixers’ long-term championship build, or at least its partial reveal, will arrive at 6 p.m. Sunday. when NBA free agency officially opens. The unofficial negotiating portion has been going on for quite a while, but Sunday is when the cards will be turned face up.

What hand have the Sixers chosen to play in their high-stakes dilemma concerning what exactly to do with leading free agents Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris and, to a lesser extent, JJ Redick?

The path has been murky all along — although the organization has steadfastly proclaimed its intent to bring back both Butler and Harris — and it got murkier when ESPN reported that the Houston Rockets are trying to finagle a sign-and-trade for Butler.

Houston general manager Daryl Morey likes to take big swings, and this might be no more than that. The Rockets pursued LeBron James last summer even when LeBron’s ultimate destination seemed a foregone conclusion.

That was a sign-and-trade effort also, with a scenario in which James would not opt out of his contract with Cleveland, thus luring the Cavs to grab at something in return rather than have him walk for nothing the following year. It was all a bit convoluted, but Morey pushed it as far as he could.

The Sixers, meanwhile, in their typically delicate fashion, have been dropping a bread-crumb trail of hints that the team might not be sold on bringing back Butler at all. If true, that’s understandable, even if Butler was their best overall player in the recent postseason.

The long-term fit between Butler and Ben Simmons is problematic, given Butler’s usefulness with the ball in his hands, and Simmons’ unbending assertion that he is, despite evidence to the contrary, an NBA point guard.

The fit between Butler and Harris, who becomes a stand-in-the-corner option with Butler operating as a free bird or in a pick-and-roll environment, is also less than efficient, particularly if Harris is going to get a max contract.

Then there is the whole Jimmy-is-an-odd-dude factor. Even on what was considered his best behavior last season, with the coming extension in mind, Butler had his moments. There are NBA people in Chicago and Minneapolis who will tell you those do not decrease in number over time.

So, yes, there is reason to walk away from Butler, even though that would make his time in Philadelphia a very expensive rental, given the assets required to trade for him. It would look bad for an organization that is way too worried about looking bad, but it is also a basketball decision. Compounding a poor one with another to justify the first is what dumb teams do.

The way this smells is that the Sixers tried to cut the apple in half and offer Butler less than the maximum allowed. Whether it was four years or a discounted five years is less important than how that was received by the Butler camp.

If the offer in conversations was less than the five-year, $190 million max, that would open the door for Butler’s agent to be the driving force in looking around for a sign-and-trade deal to secure every dollar possible, which is his job.

The wild card is Butler. At his post-playoff interview session, he said he didn’t think the difference between four years and five years was all that crucial. Either would bring a lot of money, and he has already earned enough for several lifetimes.

He was going to seek out the destination he desired, and would accept suggestions from his entire coterie of employees, including his trainer, his driver, and his chef. It could be Jimmy will leave because the driver hates the Schuylkill Expressway. Who can tell with him?

Butler is all about respect, though. He didn’t get it coming out of high school, or after a stint at a junior college, or in the NBA draft after finishing his college career at Marquette. In his mind, he didn’t get the proper support in Chicago, was relegated to second fiddle in Minnesota, and now finds himself in a situation in which Simmons and Joel Embiid are the unquestioned organizational kings.

Add to that the possibility the Sixers are trying to lowball him to whatever extent, it is more likely that Butler has already made up his mind to go elsewhere. In that world, it would also make sense for the Sixers to want it to appear — because appearances matter! — that the divorce was really their idea.

Losing Butler would sting (as would overpaying to keep Harris), but at least the Sixers would have some flexibility to improve the overall playing rotation, and they wouldn’t be shackled to a contract that has a chance to look very bad in its last couple of years.

The team’s ability to go forward and take the next steps toward a championship would then depend on the savvy of the front office to figure out the path. In the immediate wake of an underwhelming draft performance, that’s far from a given.

Not that this is a crucial time or anything. Getting from the middle of the playoffs to the championship round is every bit as difficult as getting from the lottery to the middle of the playoffs. It requires second-level thinking and a lot of luck. Having the former often leads to the latter.

Turn up the cards, and let’s see how the hand goes. The Sixers aren’t where they were a few years ago, always trying to fill an inside straight, but they need to play this very carefully. The entire house, like the game, is also made of cards. ​