The Minnesota Timberwolves have spent the last decade building their team through the NBA Draft, but they may be ready to try something new.
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The Bulls are listening to pitches involving trades for Butler, according to the report, although ESPN also adds that signals “have been mixed” from the Bulls over their willingness to trade the two-way star who was a key figure on Tom Thibodeau’s teams in Chicago.
But it’s hard to imagine Paxson and Forman swallowing the idea of trading Butler to Thibodeau after the way his five-year tenure in Chicago ended. Trading that for a seemingly more immediate fix could be seen as the wrong move both in the moment and down the road.
The Lakers, Magic and Celtics are just a few teams who would love Butler. ESPN’s Marc Stein and Chad Ford originally reported that the Timberwolves were interested in trading its No. 5 pick to lure Butler from the Bulls.
Wiggins is five years younger than Butler and costs a lot less. While Jimmy Butler is a fantastic player, he will be turning 27 prior to the beginning of next season while Wiggins is only 21. Derrick Rose’s future is also in doubt in the Windy City, so getting value for either makes sense at this point. If the Timberwolves could somehow keep LaVine as their 6th man behind a Rubio-Butler-Wiggins perimeter trip, they would be everyone’s pick for a leap into the playoffs next season.
Depending on how much Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins develop this summer, they could be more.
That echoes the feeling around the league that Durant will sign a two-year deal with Oklahoma City, including an opt-out after one year – opening the possibility that both him and Russell Westbrook will be free agents after next season. At the same time, teams like the Warriors and the Thunder have proven to us just how much continuity matters in today’s National Basketball Association especially with a young core of players maturing together.
But dreams of that tandem died quickly as the asking price for Butler was made clear as the Bulls won’t trade Butler to the Timberwolves unless it is for Wiggins. Now it’s up to Tom Thibodeau to recognize that he holds the better hand.
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They want to release Rose as soon as possible in order to create enough cap space to retain Jimmy Butler, who is now gathering attention from other teams such as the Minnesota Timberwolves.
