Minnesota Timberwolves: It’s time for Jimmy Butler to go

Enough of this. It’s time for Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Jimmy Butler to be traded and the ongoing saga to come to an end.

Jimmy Butler is healthy and is leading the Minnesota Timberwolves in Player Efficiency Rating at an impressive 26.96.

He also has two “DNP-Rest”s to his name and will likely add to that number on the Wolves’ upcoming road trip.

In case you’re wondering, simply sitting out games when not actually being injured (or, in the case of Wednesday’s game, not even on a back-to-back) is not fair to the fans and players. Enough of the drama, it’s time for Butler to go.

After rumors surfaced early on Wednesday that Butler may sit out for the foreseeable future (read: until he is traded), news broke later in the day that the All-Star wing plans to play on Friday against the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors.

This came jut two days after Butler dropped 32 points against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the Wolves’ thrilling 124-120 victory on Monday night at Target Center. In eight games, Butler has already sat out two due to rest.

If this is Butler’s way of forcing himself out of Minnesota, then it’s time owner Glen Taylor grant him his wish.

Just last week, the Houston Rockets reportedly offered Minnesota four first-round picks over the next few years for Butler. Wolves brass has balked at the offer, and likely due to the fact that — at least as of right now — they’ll be late first-round picks and that they’re spread out among the next few years. Tom Thibodeau surely won’t be here to see the fruits of those picks, and he wants to win now.

While the sample size is small, the Rockets are 1-5 and one of the league’s worst defensive teams. Carmelo Anthony, 34, and Chris Paul, 33, are past their prime, so the Rockets, unless they find a way to snap out of this slump, are only going to get worse over the next few years

If the Rockets go into full rebuild mode, it could be important for the Timberwolves get those picks because they could be a high draft selection down the road and yield another potential franchise building block.

Other deals the Timberwolves should inquire about include Jimmy Butler for Bradley Beal or John Wall. The Wizards were supposed to be a contender in the East but have crumbled coming out of the gate.

At 1-6, it might just be time to break up the Wall, Beal, and Otto Porter trio. In all likelihood, Butler would not re-sign in Washington for the long term but the Wizards get much-needed cap room space by trading away one of their higher paid players. Beal is signed for through 2020-2021 at $28 million per season, which is less than what Butler is seeking annually for his next contract.

Wall’s super-max contract goes into effect next season, so this deal might not be as appealing. However, Wall is a franchise player and a trio of Wall, Wiggins, and KAT could be pretty exciting.

Butler has managed to remain productive during the drama. He’s averaging 22.5 points,5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game and hit a series of huge shots in Monday’s win over the Lakers.

But if Butler continues to unnecessarily skip games, it simply isn’t fair to the fans, his teammates and the Timberwolves organization as a whole.