It’s drama time in Minnesota. The Timberwolves have a dilemma brewing internally between Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler. They don’t like each other and the team probably has to choose one of them for the long-term well being of their franchise. Well, Butler made their decision a little easier today when he has officially requested a trade away from the organization.
Shams Charania of the Athletic was the first to report the news:
Jimmy Butler has requested a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves, league sources tell me and @JonKrawczynski. Butler has given Minnesota a list of one-to-three teams with whom he's open to signing extension, in anticipation of trade.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 19, 2018
Butler, 29, is an impending free agent after the conclusion of the upcoming season. The Timberwolves open training camp in less than one week so there isn’t much time to work out a trade. As of now, President of Basketball Ops, Tom Thibodeau, has been resistant to deal their star small forward according to Shams. Butler met with the Timberwolves brass in Los Angeles earlier today and must not have liked what they had to say.
KAT also came out and said that he wouldn’t sign his extension with the team until the Butler situation was dealt with. Considering that the youth is on KAT’s side and they control his rights for longer, it’s not hard to blame the team for siding with their young center. However, Butler averaged 22.2 points and 4.9 assists per game on 47 percent shooting clip. Given the fact that Butler hits free agency in a year, it’s hard to gauge what kind of market he could have.
According to Shams, Butler gave a list of three teams he would be willing to sign a long-term deal with. The problem is we have no idea which teams they might be. Some of the main suitors could include the Lakers, Knicks, Nets, Clippers, and 76ers but it’s hard to know for sure who Butler has his eyes on.
