Minnesota Timberwolves: Trade ideas for Jimmy Butler to the Houston Rockets
By Trey Flynn
As we’ve noted before, this trade has been one of our options here at Dunking With Wolves over the past few weeks. But, the Miami deals that have been on the table for over two weeks have superseded the option of Jimmy Butler to Houston.
Now we have to deal with whoever wants Butler the most and who has the best assets, in this case, the Houston Rockets.
Right off the bat, the idea of seeing a Chris Paul, James Harden, Jimmy Butler, and Clint Capela lineup seems insane to me. I’m not going to ask the question of who will carry the load of playing the full court offense, because NBA analysts adamantly thought that Paul and MVP Harden wouldn’t work and they were SO wrong, ergo the “MVP” preface to Harden’s name.
The idea of Butler playing off the ball at the wing may actually help transition him into a new style of play that could add longevity to his career.
The Minnesota Timberwolves become more well rounded with adding guard Eric Gordon and forward PJ Tucker, also the addition of an unprotected first round pick is a huge plus.
We know that Tucker isn’t reported to be added into the deal, but bare with us because it’s probably Thibs can talk that deal into existence.
The Wolves would toy a lot with their roster, but I could see the defensive minded Thibs bringing Gordon off the bench to produce as their new sixth man and move Andrew Wiggins to the starting shooting guard in his offense; allowing PJ Tucker to guard at the three and transition more smoothly on defense.
While Derrick Rose has had some nice shining moments at the shooting guard position next to Tyus Jones and/or Jeff Teague, that most likely won’t be a stable position for him – mostly because it happened during preseason. Eric Gordon could alleviate that position stress for Rose, or they could move Gordon to the three alongside Anthony Tolliver and Gorgui Dieng.
More options sometimes means less options, but not in this case. What the Wolves desperately need is more wiggle room with their roster and this would help them with that.
Our next trade will be more what the Rockets have reportedly demanded out of a new deal with the Timberwolves.