Wow. A lot of bold statements in this lol.
I wouldn't trade Jimmy because, number one, I don't think you would get close value. I also think he's a top 15 player and we're going to need him. Especially considering he's by far the best scorer on the team.
Let's say he is the 15th best player in the league, what does that really mean. Let's just use this as an example.
4 elite players in the league.
7 closet to elite players.
10-20 players in the next group.
Does it really matter if he is the best of that third group? I am not going to argue if Butler is better than DeRozan, McCollum, Batum. The granular difference is too small to make a difference. Butler is a good player who has a lot of intangibles going for him. The problem is shooting is the most important thing in the NBA right now and Butler is not a good shooter for his position.
I guess i just see it like this. Butler is not good enough to get the Bulls to the next level as the best player. If you trade him out with DeRozan you are about the same team and lose at about the same place in the playoffs. People forget that Butler is 26. He is about as developed as he is going to get. He is probably going to start his decline in the next ~3 years.
I like Butler a lot and I am glad he is on the Bulls. He is just a difference maker when you talk about winning a ring. He is a weak 2nd or really good 3rd piece to a championship team.