It’s been nearly two weeks since Jimmy Butler‘s reported trade request, but the Minnesota Timberwolves have yet to find a suitable trade offer.
The Minnesota Timberwolves kick-off preseason play on Saturday night, and Jimmy Butler is still officially on the roster.
It’s been 10 days since Butler reportedly made his trade request official in a face-to-face meeting with Tom Thibodeau, and four days since Butler arrived at Target Center for his physical and Thibodeau acknowledged the trade request to the Twin Cities media.
Rumors have been flying fast and furious all week, with the field of interested teams reaching nearly half the league late last weekend. Then, a three-team trade seemed likely, which may still be the case.
At one point, it seemed as though the Miami Heat were in the lead when it comes to putting together a palatable trade package for the Timberwolves All-Star, possibly including a third team.
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
As of Thursday night and early on Friday, the Houston Rockets are reportedly making a serious run at landing Butler.
NBA sources confirm the #Rockets are making a strong effort to land Jimmy Butler in a trade with Minnesota.
— Mark Berman (@MarkBerman_) September 28, 2018
Mark is a very trusted Houston sports authority. Jives with what I reported on the 6 o'clock news that Houston has been lurking. #Twolves https://t.co/NUF2uNdq5b
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) September 28, 2018
It’s unclear what, exactly, the Rockets would offer for Butler. They don’t exactly have a stable of assets to put on the table; 30-year-old Eric Gordon would surely be the centerpiece, which should be enough to illicit concern from Wolves fans.
Minnesota would surely receive a first-round pick, too, but it would be late in the round and not all that attractive. P.J. Tucker would be a nice addition, but would be a less valuable role player on a Wolves team that would be a borderline playoff team at best after swapping Butler out for Gordon.
If the Rockets were to land Butler, there would almost certainly need to be a third team to absorb the salary of Gorgui Dieng.
Such an offer from Houston would not fit the bill that ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has offered as what the Timberwolves will be looking for in return: “quality veterans, top prospects, future assets and salary-cap relief”, according to Woj.
Miami remains an attractive destination, with Josh Richardson, Goran Dragic, Kelly Olynyk, and Hassan Whiteside all players that could potentially come back to Minnesota. Wojnarowski has also mentioned the Phoenix Suns as a team that could force its way into discussions; they have reportedly had interest in Tyus Jones in the past, so they could be a team to watch.
One wild card that some folks in the media seem to suggest we should keep an eye on is the Washington Wizards. If the Wolves could get Otto Porter, Jr. back in a deal with Washington, they should make sure to take a long, hard look at that possibility.
At any rate, we don’t know a lot more than we did earlier in the week, except for that Miami and Houston appear to be the most aggressive teams at this stage.