A guide to the Timberwolves’ pending free agents
By Paul Ibrahim
Jimmy Butler
Jimmy Butler is eligible for an extension this summer, and along with that possibility comes questions.
It is without question that Butler is the reason the playoff drought did not reach 14 years, and for this, I surrender to him my kidney. However, is Jimmy Butler, under the premise of the Timberwolves hellish salary cap situation, worthy of a max contract? If the Timberwolves offer him the max this offseason, it would kick in during his age-30 season, and he would receive an average salary of $37.6 million until his 35th birthday — the termination of the contract and a point when he will likely be far past his prime.
Should the Timberwolves offer him the max, I would expect him to take it, as no other team can come within $50 million of the total contract. Of course, all of this is considered along with the pretense that he has a player option for the 2019-20 season. But don’t bank on him opting in, as it would be ludicrous for him to opt into his player option for and leave a potential $18 million on the board.
Granted, Butler is a team player, and if he was willing to accept something like a 50 percent pay decrease, I would have to live without any kidneys. However, despite Butler being the team player that he is, it is exceedingly unlikely that he, or any player, would give up that much money for the benefit of a team that he was neither drafted by nor has any real connection to outside of his 60-year old head coach.
Therefore, if the Wolves offer him, as well as Towns, max contracts this offseason, that would tie more than $91 million between the likes of Wiggins, Towns, and Butler. This core, while one of the stronger ones in the NBA, would at its peak be capable of playing a competitive conference finals series, but with little funds to spend elsewhere to provide depth, this core alone is nowhere near strong enough to drive a team to championship contention.
Thus, it is with heartache, heartbreak, and disconsolateness that I recommend the Timberwolves let Jimmy Butler walk after this season if they are to have any shot at all for championship contention in the next handful of years.