Continue to play at an All-Star level
Butler is one of the top players in the league, he’s arguably a top-five two-way player in the NBA. Butler has made the All-Star game in every season since 2015. The way he’s played this season in two short games, he looks to be on his way to another one.
The injury and character concerns will not be as big of a concern if he can play like one of the top players in the league. There are plenty of teams out there that are one player away from contending.
The Philadelphia 76ers are in need of one more star and the Houston Rockets are right outside looking in at the Golden State Warriors. There are many more instances, but teams could look to push all their chips towards the middle to acquire a player like Butler.
That’s just a possible idea and not anything that has been reported. Though those two specific teams have had interest. Butler in two games has looked good and is putting together another great season.
This season he’s averaging 28.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 4.0 steals, 1.5 blocks, even shooting 40 percent from three. Those numbers are MVP worthy, but they will also drop once he plays in more games. As long as he continues to play like an All-Star, teams will be calling and potentially upping their offer.
It’s safe to say that character and injury concerns will diminish as long as he plays well. Butler has had a history of those two in the past and it’s something the Timberwolves will need to take care of. If they can do these three things, then Butler will have increased his trade value.
If Butler does get traded, let’s just hope it’s talent close to what we gave up for him. Because leaving Minnesota with one playoff win (even though we haven’t seen that in a long time) won’t suffice for our losses.