Timberwolves: Analyzing the Jimmy Butler trade after one year

Minnesota Timberwolves

The Timberwolves immediately went on a 4-1 run after executing the Butler trade, but an injury to Robert Covington and a multitude of other ailments down the stretch ended any hope they had of making a second consecutive playoff appearance, and it ended up costing Tom Thibodeau his job.

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Minnesota had to be thrilled to acquire Covington in the Butler trade as he was in the first year of a very reasonable four-year, $46.9 million contract, and his three-and-D skillset is one that’s highly coveted in today’s NBA.

He’s also been a great veteran leader for a team that is trying to develop a ton of young talent.

Dario Saric ended up being a very solid player for the Wolves averaging 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 38.3% from three during his stint in Minnesota, but the new front office led by Gersson Rosas decided he was not part of this franchise’s future and dealt him to Phoenix in a trade that helped the Wolves draft Jarrett Culver.

Culver is another player who has the three-and-D skillset that Minnesota targeted in an attempt to modernize their roster after the Tom Thibodeau era, but he’s also shown the potential to become a primary ball-handler in a successful offense.

Culver has shown plenty of flashes for fans to be excited about early on in his rookie year while Saric and 11th overall pick Cameron Johnson, who was also a piece of that trade, have both played well in Phoenix early on.

Culver is probably going to have to become a star for that trade to look good down the line, but he certainly has the potential to become one and he helps the Wolves get a bit younger as he’s still just 20 years old.

Minnesota was put in a very difficult situation when Jimmy Butler made it clear he had no intention of staying with the Wolves and took away much of the franchise’s leverage in trade talks.

However, Minnesota was still able to get a solid return in the trade and have turned that deal into one of the league’s most solid veterans and a rookie who has the potential to be a star in this league. They’ve also improved their team chemistry dramatically from the Butler days as his personality was a terrible fit alongside Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins.

At the end of the day, both franchises are in a good place a year after the trade thanks to what they’ve each done in dealing with the loss of Jimmy Butler.