It’s been a full week since Jimmy Butler’s trade request went public, and to this point there’s been nothing significant reported on the discussions the Timberwolves have had with other teams.
The most solid report puts the Miami Heat as a frontrunner and notes they’re being “aggressive,” but there’s not been even so much as a reported trade package or pieces that may even be involved — although we put together some of our best guesses for what a Heat deal could be. This is strange because Minnesota has plenty of reason to try and get a deal done quickly, given that Butler isn’t going to be reporting to camp, no matter how much Tom Thibodeau pleas with him, and starting the season without a deal being done could be costly in what will be a playoff race likely decided by a game or two.
Still, for now, Thibodeau and Scott Layden are seemingly not budging on their demands in a Butler trade. As The Athletic’s Sam Amick reports, the asking price is so high that the Philadelphia 76ers have completely bowed out of the proceedings.
All the noise about Jimmy Butler yesterday was about Miami, but it’s clear Minnesota’s price tag remains extremely high. To highlight one rumored team, I’m told Philly is currently completely out of the JB situation and has never had any traction after preliminary discussions.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) September 27, 2018
It’s not surprising that the Sixers wouldn’t be willing to mortgage their future for a possible one-year rental of Butler, but given that Philadelphia is one of the teams with the most assets in the league, it is noteworthy that they’ve been scared off of talks completely after their initial probe.
There have been more than 10 teams to reportedly call about Butler, but very few, if any, have gotten into real talks that we know of. For the Sixers, they’re happy to move forward with their group into 2018-19 and it remains to be seen whether Thibodeau and company will be willing to adjust their demands (or if Glen Taylor will force them to) to ensure a deal is done sooner than later.
