Minnesota Timberwolves Roundup: Trade makes Sixers ‘nervous’, plus Taj workouts

The Minnesota Timberwolves are entering the post-Jimmy Butler era while the Philadelphia 76ers are apparently a bit apprehensive about the massive move they just made.

The Philadelphia 76ers just took on the Minnesota Timberwolves‘ problem.

Sure, the problem comes in the form of a four-time All-Star and perennial member of the NBA All-Defense team, but Jimmy Butler’s relatively brief stay in Minnesota was the furthest thing from sunshine and roses.

Wolves fans can enjoy the lowering of expectations with the jettisoning of Butler and acquisitions of Dario Saric, Robert Covington, and Jerryd Bayless, while the 76ers are no longer mired in the process, but fully stocked and expected to win.

Elton Brand, who hasn’t even been on the job for two months and only retired just over two years ago, is already admitting that he feels “nervous” about the Butler trade. He made the comments on The Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday morning.

While it’s probably a good thing for executives to be a bit on edge — it’s the whole “what keeps you up at night” thing — his thoughts don’t exactly inspire confidence for the weeks and months to come.

Indeed, the Sixers traded virtually all of the spacing in their starting lineup not named J.J. Redick for a guy who is going to demand the ball be in his hands. And he’ll be playing alongside star playmaker Ben Simmons, and with a high-usage big man in Joel Embiid.

The 76ers roster became thinner overnight, as they jettisoned two starters and a potential rotation player (Bayless is hurt currently but has played significant minutes for them when healthy) for a superstar in Butler and an injured young player in Justin Patton.

The Wolves, on the other hand, became much deeper — even though they sent out the best player in the deal. It will be fascinating to see how this plays out in the coming months, and fans of both teams will certainly be paying attention to how the other one fares.

Elsewhere, Taj Gibson‘s well-known trainer, Travelle Gaines, released some footage of Taj going through some intense workouts.

Good stuff…Gibson has always been an insanely hard worker and knows that Tom Thibodeau may ask him to play upwards of 35 minutes on any given night. In fact, Gibson averaged a career-high 33.2 minutes per game last year at age 32, so he needs to stay in shape.

Now, it’s time to embark on Phase II of the current season. Exit: Jimmy Butler. Enter: RobCov and Dario…