Jimmy Butler has finally been traded ending a disastrous marriage in Minnesota. The former Timberwolves star is heading to the 76ers, but that wasn’t necessarily Minnesota’s first option for a trade destination. There were numerous reports that the Wolves passed on an offer from the Heat that would have sent Butler to Miami. In return, Minnesota would have gotten Josh Richardson and a first-round pick, but they rebuffed that offer in hopes of getting more.
Wanting more was a constant problem for the Wolves throughout this saga. Minnesota was talking to other teams besides Miami and Philadelphia, but were never able to get other teams to offer up an All-Star caliber player in return. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Wolves were talking to both the Pelicans and the Wizards. Both teams had interest, but not enough to cause them to part with a star guard as Minnesota was requesting.
Minnesota desperately tried to cobble together trade offers in the past week, including extensive discussions with New Orleans, league sources said. The Pelicans are limited on tradeable assets, but desperate to find star power to keep Anthony Davis for the long run. The Pelicans wouldn’t include point guard Jrue Holiday in its offer, nor multiple draft picks, league sources said.
Minnesota passed on a Miami deal weeks ago that would’ve included guard Josh Richardson, and the Heat never returned him into talks, sources said. Washington wouldn’t offer guard Bradley Beal, sources said.
After taking a moment to stop laughing at the idea of putting Jimmy Butler into the Wizards powder keg of drama, the Wolves are operating in these trade talks here like they were the ones in control. It doesn’t hurt to ask for a Jrue Holiday or a Bradley Beal, but those teams need more of a guarantee that Butler is going to sign on long-term after the season ends. Butler has been a locker room problem and will likely be a free agent at the end of the year. There’s no benefit to either of these teams to offer up some of their best players for a total mystery.
The real kicker is it would make sense for both New Orleans and Washington to at least explore the idea of adding on Butler. The Pelicans would have been complicated to make a deal work, but they are reportedly seeking out that third star to put alongside Holiday and Davis — and, as such, weren’t willing to part with Holiday in the process. The Wizards, on the other hand, are in desperate need of change. Someone of the Wall-Beal core probably needs to go at this point, but the Wolves have no leverage and Washington clearly didn’t feel swapping Butler in for Beal would’ve brought the change needed. The Wolves possibly could’ve targeted Otto Porter in a deal with Washington, but they stuck with top-level guys and, in the end, settled on the Philly deal.
There’s nothing wrong with Robert Covington and Dario Saric, but the Wolves were forced to settle at the end of the day. They were forced to settle because, when there were good offers available, they consistently asked for more. They botched multiple steps of this process and it cost them some of Butler’s value. The rest of the value was of course tanked by Butler himself. A total disaster from everybody involved.
