NBA trade rumor: Jimmy Butler and Jahlil Okafor still available

At the risk of repeating myself I’ll point out that Jimmy Butler is still a very real option that the Celtics should take a long look at. In addition, the Sixers still have a glut of bigs and may still be willing to move one of them for the right price. Steve Bulpett is reporting that both teams are still open to trades, but it isn’t clear if the Celtics are willing to pay the prices to land them.

Sources are telling us that the C’s are still holding the line on their offers from prior to the draft. They will make trades if teams come around to their price.

Jimmy Butler and Jahlil Okafor are said to be still available, but getting them now won’t be as easy as on draft night when Chicago and Philadelphia, respectively, both coveted the No. 3 overall pick so they could take Providence’s Kris Dunn.

There are indications the Celtics may still be able to do business with the Bulls and 76ers, but both sides will have to get creative.

My eagerness to bring on Jimmy Butler is well documented, so I won’t bore you with more of that.

I will, however, soften my stance on Jahlil Okafor a bit. The concerns are still the same (he’s a black hole on offense and a revolving door on defense), but for me the presence of Al Horford changes things a bit. Having the reliable Horford in the middle may help close up the lane better than pairing Okafor with someone like Olynyk. Also, Horford stretches the floor on offense which would allow Jahlil a little extra space to operate on the block. Finally, I get the feeling that the price tag wouldn’t be prohibitive, meaning the Celtics wouldn’t have to give up much in the way of core pieces or assets to get him.

As usual, it all boils down to the price. The Celtics can afford to be patient and see if teams will lower their prices to the point where the two sides can come up with creative deals. Perhaps a third team could be involved—in particular now that all the major free agents have found new homes.

There’s a lot of offseason left, but the Celtics are in no hurry to rush into something that doesn’t make sense in the near and long term. Should be interesting to see if any more fireworks are lit as the summer days drag on.