Minnesota Timberwolves: Impressive haul for Wolves in Butler trade

All things considered, the Minnesota Timberwolves did quite well when it comes to the return they received for Jimmy Butler from the Philadelphia 76ers.

It’s over, Wolves fans.

The would-be second-best player in Minnesota Timberwolves franchise history’s reign of sudden terror has ended, and Karl-Anthony Towns is free to take the reigns.

Somehow, someway, the Timberwolves managed to get back a solid return from the Philadelphia 76ers; one that both allows them to theoretically compete for a playoff spot now and yet still continue building a young core for the future.

The Wolves will reportedly receive Dario Saric, Robert Covington, and Jerryd Bayless in return, plus a second-round draft pick. They’ll send out Justin Patton, whose third-year option was recently declined, to help even out salaries.

Saric was the No. 12 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft and made his Sixers debut during the 2016-17 season. He was a part-time starter as a rookie and a regular starter last year and this year for a dangerous 76ers squad.

Saric mostly plays the power forward spot, which will make the minutes distribution between Taj Gibson, Anthony Tolliver, and the newcomer an interesting thing to keep an eye on. Both Tolliver and Saric can play the three but are best-suited at the four, so Tom Thibodeau and his staff will have some decisions to make.

The 6-foot-10 Croatian is a good outside shooter, hitting on 35.1 percent of his career 3-point attempts including 39.3 percent on 5.7 attempts per game last season. He’s a solid defender, too, and can create with the ball in his hands. He’s still just 24 years old and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2020 but is also eligible for a contract extension beginning next summer if he continues to show impovement.

Covington is the clear “win-now” part of this move; the “3-and-D” specialist is about to turn 28 years old and signed a four-year extension just under a year ago. He’ll be paid about $47 million over this season plus the next three, which isn’t a bad deal for one of the better 3-and-D wings in the league.

Covington is a 35.9 percent career 3-point shooter and is an outstanding team defender with one of the better steal rates in the league among regular rotation players over the past few seasons.

He’ll fit right in as a low-usage, spot-up shooter between Andrew Wiggins and Towns, and will help cover some of the defense lost with the exit of Butler.

The contract is reasonable enough that it will be movable in the next few years if the Wolves end up needing the flexibility, but it’s a fine acquisition for a wannabe playoff team to round out the starting lineup.

Bayless is injured, although he should be healthy in the next few weeks. He will be an expiring contract next summer and only played in 39 games last year, although he could step in as Jeff Teague‘s primary backup if the Wolves ultimately move Tyus Jones in a separate deal as they’ve been rumored to be considering.

The Wolves starting lineup will now be Teague, Covington, Wiggins, Saric or Gibson, and Towns. The bench unit that includes Jones, Derrick Rose, Josh Okogie, Anthony Tolliver, Saric or Gibson, and Gorgui Dieng is solid.

More on the trade from the Sixers perspective later in the day, but they certainly gave up a lot to add a questionable character to their locker room full of young players.

If you’re a Timberwolves fan, you have to feel pretty good about this return. We’ll have plenty of commentary on the move throughout the day, so keep it tuned to DWW.