Minnesota Timberwolves: Should Jimmy Butler be traded?
1. Cleveland Cavaliers
Why the Timberwolves say yes:
This trade is actually my favorite of them all, as it addresses a lot of needs moving forward. Why not add more former Chicago Bulls to the Wolves? Kyle Korver is on his last few years of his NBA career, but one thing that has not left his game is his ability to shoot the 3-ball.
This season, he’s shooting 43.6 percent on 5.2 attempts per game. Minnesota could desperately use his deep-range abilities sorely. Jordan Clarkson is a great guy to come off the bench and become a Sixth Man of the Year-type player.
Minnesota needs bench depth and someone who can help out in the scoring column. The Wolves had one of the worst benches this season and adding Clarkson would improve it drastically. He’s 25 years old and is averaging 13.9 points between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Lakers. This is all while averaging 22 minutes or so per game. He can shoot the ball from beyond the arc, but it’s definitely not his strong suit.
The best part of this trade is getting Brooklynn’s draft pick. As of now it’s going to be the eighth pick in the 2018 draft. That could change depending how the lottery balls fall on May 15.
Not to sound like a broken record, but this draft is deep. Getting a young, talented player on a cheap contract is the best possible solution for Minnesota moving forward. They could grab someone who can be their future franchise player alongside Wiggins and Towns.
Would they want to draft a point guard and have him be the future once Teague is done with his contract. Or could grab a center and slide Towns at power forward? Clarkson and Korver don’t have the prettiest contracts, but they are easy to move if you were to decide to. Clarkson is making a little over $11 million and Korver is making a little over $7 million.
Why the Cavaliers say yes:
The Cavaliers would essentially be getting rid of two bench players and a draft pick that they wouldn’t be playing as much most likely. I know they value the draft pick because the uncertainty of what LeBron James will do in free agency.
However, I think it would be hard for James to leave Cleveland again. Plus, by the Cavaliers trading for Butler, it shows James that they are all in on him. A starting lineup around the core of James, Butler and Kevin Love puts the Cavaliers as possible favorites to come out of the East.
Next: Let's put this Timberwolves season in perspective
Cleveland is one of the worst defensive teams in the league, and getting Butler would improve their defense drastically. Again, Butler just wants to win, and if you’re with James, you have a good shot at doing so.