HomoSapien wrote:The chances of getting someone better than Butler are insanely slim. Even if you do find a great prospect, most of them will take 2-3 years to develop. Butler is still only 27, and is going to be an impact player for a long time. Can you imagine what a disaster it would've been if the Celtics prematurely gave up on Paul Pierce for a rebuild?
Indeed.
As I keep saying, even if we strike out in 2017 free agency, I'd still rather dump RoLo/Taj, tank next year, and then come into 2018 with $70m+ in cap-room and a lottery pick.
Jimmy's not gonna ask out if he's losing as the #1 option; he still get to lead a big market team as a 2nd-tier star (or 3rd-tier in some people's minds

). He's locked until 2019 anyway, and you have the unique opportunity to take advantage of his $20m salary while recruiting more max FAs and complimentary players (potentially looking at $80m in cap-space if Niko/Taj/RoLo are all off the books).
Fred and Bobby will know how to tank, regardless who their best player is.

All things considered, it'd be a rough year and half, but "keep Jimmy and tank for the next 2 seasons" is actually the best possible scenario. You come up with a potential powerhouse in 2018/19, and at 30 years old, Jimmy's game is probably gonna plateau.
2018 free agents:
http://www.hoopsrumors.com/2016/09/2018-nba-free-agents.htmlThe highlights and potentially realistic targets are these totally unrestricted, prime players: Cousins, George, Barton, Bradley (the guy everybody wants to trade for

).