NBA reacts to Philly’s Butler trade with cautious optimism

Ben Simmons and the Sixers have a player who can take them all the way to the NBA Finals in Jimmy Butler. Or they could implode.

Jimmy Butler is expected to be available midweek.

The Process is over. Philadelphia wants to play in the NBA Finals this season — and the Sixers may now have the player they need to get them over the hump in Jimmy Butler.

That’s the general reaction to the 76ers sending starters Dario Saric and Robert Covington to Minnesota for the wantaway Timberwolves star over the weekend.

Butler, 29, is a four-time All-Star and has made the All-NBA third team two years running, but carries some risk after being part of unsettled locker rooms in Chicago and Minnesota.

But given some of the negative publicity he’s received in recent weeks — and his desire to secure a lucrative new contract at the end of the season — he’s expected to toe the line in Philly.

“He has to be on his best behaviour, and he knows it,” an unnamed league executive told ESPN. “If he screws up that team, that’ll be three straight teams. Someone will sign him in free agency, but he won’t get all that he’s asking for.”

“In a lot of ways, Butler is perfect for the Philadelphia marketplace: tough-minded, fierce and unafraid. The fans will love him,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski added. “As the Sixers fell behind Boston, Toronto and Milwaukee in the standings — and July free agency offered no guaranteed solutions — this deal made sense on every level for the Sixers.”

NBC Sports’ Tom Haberstroh declared the trade a win for coach Brett Brown’s team.

“After netting Butler, they might be NBA Finals-bound. Might,” he wrote.

“The Sixers stumbled out of the gate this season, but with Butler, they’re back in the conversation for a Finals trip.

“LeBron James is gone. The Boston Celtics are vulnerable. The Toronto Raptors are led by Kawhi Leonard, who only played nine games last season and has been on a strict no-back-to-back policy. The East is ripe for the taking.”

WHAT THE SIXERS PLAYERS THOUGHT

Ben Simmons has someone to pass to in crunch time.

The 76ers had won four of five games after a slow start to the season so the trade came at a surprising time.

But core trio Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and Markelle Fultz gave it the nod.

“He said he just wants to win,” Simmons told reporters. “I think that’s the mindset we all have here. We’re excited to get Jimmy in here.”

Simmons expected Butler to be a good fit. “A guy like him who can come in, score the ball, veteran leadership, experience — he’s going to fit in here,” the Australian said. “Our culture is winning, playing together as a team and playing hard. I think he’s going to bring that.”

“It’s not going to affect my game,” Simmons added. “I know how to play, wherever you want me on the floor. But at the same time, I know what I’m good at, I know what I can do on the floor. Him coming in helps us, adds another scorer out there, another vet who can play the game the right way. He’s going to fit in with us.”

Embiid said Timberwolves players had also sent encouraging reports. “They thought that he was going to be good for us,” Embiid told ESPN. “They thought that we were definitely going to get along. He wants to win. Wiggs told me that he thought that we were going to win the East for sure.”

Fultz, who is attempting to find his feet in his second season, expects Butler to provide leadership.

“At the end of the day, I’m just worried about myself getting better and really help the team,” Fultz said. “So (I’ll be) just observing the way he trains, maybe, the way he competes, stuff like that.”

LEBRON, T-WOLVES REACT

LeBron James shoots over Jimmy Butler.

LeBron James was bullish on the Sixers’ chances this season in the wake of the trade. “I think they were a contender before. It only enhances what they are able to do,” James said. “They’ve got Ben and Joel and now you add in Jimmy, I think that is going to be a very, very good team.”

OKC’s Paul George agreed. “Jimmy is in a good situation. He’s going to make that team even better,” George said.

Celtics coach Brad Stevens didn’t offer much. “They were a really good team two days ago and they’re a really good team now. I haven’t thought much about it,” he said.

But despite his acrimonious departure from Minnesota, young Timberwolves stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins only had nice things to say.

“He’s one hell of a player,” Towns said. “I don’t know how many Jimmy Butlers there are in the world, so I think he’ll be missed.”

“I learned a lot of things from him,” Wiggins added. “We made the playoffs, something we haven’t done in a long, long time. So I think it was a positive either way you put it.”