Butler told Thibodeau that he would like to be traded before reporting for Timberwolves media day Monday and that he plans to leave the franchise in free agency next summer, league sources said. As for the Timberwolves who dealt him? The trade request, which was first reported by the Athletic on Wednesday, officially makes the situation so. In other words, they are determined to lose him for absolutely nothing. None of those apply for Butler’s current team. Butler has been in the top four in the National Basketball Association in minutes per game each of the last five seasons, topping the National Basketball Association at 38.7 MPG in 2014-15.
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“There’s a tremendous amount of pressure on him this season and an environment that Butler doesn’t want to go forward being a part of”.
Butler turned down a relatively modest 4-year, $110 million contract extension offer from the team this summer.
There is also a huge benefit for the point guard to be traded now ahead of next summer rather than stay in Minnesota and see out his contract before becoming a free agent.
Should that happen, it would give John Paxson a significant win in the trade, considering that Minnesota would have lost their main asset in the trade that brought the Bulls Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine, and Lauri Markkanen.
“For now, they are very unwilling [to trade Butler]”.
Butler’s unhappiness is just the latest issue to befall Minnesota over the past few months.
But the promise of potential and future success alongside Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins appears to not be what interests Butler at this time.
Neither of those two are the guys who sign the checks, and neither will have the final say on whether or not their All-Star is traded, especially after his public demands.
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Now we cannot deny that Butler is a quality player, but here are 3 reasons that the Celtics should steer clear of Jimmy Butler.
