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Minnesota Timberwolves: Trade with Miami Heat falls apart for Jimmy Butler

By Trey Flynn

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - NOVEMBER 24: Udonis Haslem #40 of the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler #23 of the Minnesota Timberwolves talk before the game on November 24, 2017 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - NOVEMBER 24: Udonis Haslem #40 of the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler #23 of the Minnesota Timberwolves talk before the game on November 24, 2017 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN has reported that a trade came close to being finalized over the weekend but has fallen apart as of today.

With recent Woj bombs informing the sports world that the Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat recently fell out of a deal including Jimmy Butler, you could say that no one has any idea what’s going on.

Wojnarowski states the current situation here:

"Via, ESPN“The Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat advanced to the brink of a blockbuster trade for All-Star forward Jimmy Butler over the weekend — only for the deal to fracture before completion, league sources told ESPN.Minnesota had shared Butler’s medical information with Miami late in the week, sources said, a typical last step before finalizing a trade.Minnesota owner Glen Taylor and Miami owner Micky Arison had become involved in the talks and there was hope that a trade call with the league office could finalize a deal soon — until Minnesota moved to amend the framework of the trade and talks collapsed on Saturday, league sources said.”"

What this means is that during the last second of the potential deal that was almost signed on Saturday, president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau and general manager Scott Layden of Minnesota’s front office tried to sweeten the pot before it was signed.

The so-called “sweetener” was most likely another draft pick, because there have been reports of Miami completely leaving their defensive stud Josh Richardson out of any deal.

Woj also signals there may be other problems now that this deal has fallen apart:

"“Talks between the two teams could restart again, but it appears there would need to be a resetting process between Miami and Minnesota, league sources said. Minnesota has been engaged with no serious talks elsewhere on Butler, with teams believing that a Miami deal was inevitable and the Timberwolves steep asking price often remaining a non-starter in talks, league sources said.Butler is a four-time All-Star who has told Minnesota that he’ll leave in free agency in July — and wants a trade now.Owner Glen Taylor is pushing president of basketball operations and coach Tom Thibodeau and general manager Scott Layden to find a deal sooner than later for Butler, league sources said.”"

There could be a potential reset in a deal between Minnesota and Miami, and it would most likely surround Josh Richardson. And as we’ve reported before, the Heat don’t seem keen on including J-Rich.

The obvious issue from this Woj bomb is that he implies the Wolves don’t have other tangible offers from any organization because the NBA at large believed Miami would get the deal done – which could potentially mean that the Timberwolves won’t trade Butler for quite a while.

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However, I wouldn’t look at that as a negative.

Minnesota has been ready to give up Butler because owner Glen Taylor has had enough, but now that Miami is out of the picture (for now) and it’s public, maybe other teams will jump in and offer some nice pieces.

Woj also noted that shooting guard Dion Waiters was rumored to be included in a 3-team deal, which we’re assuming include the Miami Heat and the Sacramento Kings. The Kings recently released forward Jamel Artis (to possibly clear up some roster space).

The deal that would’ve included Waiters to Sacramento was potentially going to hold draft picks from Minnesota and Miami as well, which seemed to be a reason that Minnesota was so hesitant at the last second.

In conclusion, nothing is happening today. But, we can expect more teams to call Minny’s front office and get a deal done that helps the Wolves roster more than any deal that would’ve been signed in the past 24 hours (hopefully).