NBA All-Star forward Jimmy Butler has requested that the Minnesota Timberwolves trade him, according to Shams Charania from The Athletic. He has also listed several teams that he is interested in moving to, and the Los Angeles Clippers are his No.1 choice, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Charania said that Butler has been considering his future with the Timberwolves and finally made his decision to leave only a week before the team's training camp begins.
According to Woj, Butler had planned to talk to Minnesota's head coach Tom Thibodeau in Minneapolis but then changed the location to LA. However, their conversation failed to convince Butler to stay. Besides for the Clippers, Butler is also willing to play for the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks.
Jimmy Butler is the biggest contributor to the Minnesota Timberwolves' return to the NBA playoffs after 14 years of absence. /VCG Photo
Theoretically, Minnesota can still keep Butler, but if Butler still wants to go in summer 2019, the Timberwolves will end up getting nothing. Besides, even if they try to send him away during the season, his trade value will drop as times goes on.
It has been agreed by many that Butler wanted to leave Minnesota because he could not stand the attitudes of his young teammates Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns. However, Chinese basketball player Su Qun had a different idea. He believes that Butler made the trade request more out of financial considerations.
There will be over 20 star-level players with the chance to become free agents in 2019 including Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry and Al Horford. These players will then no doubt seek big contracts, which is also what Butler is after.
Injusries start to catch Butler in recent seasons. /VCG Photo
Though Butler has been known as one the league's iron warriors for rarely missing any game, he has started to suffer from injuries recently and that is a potential risk. Butler is reliable in both defense and offense but he is still an isolation player and regularly demands the ball, which means that he may not be the best option for making Big Three.
And he is already 29 years old so must work for his last maximum salary contract. If he competes with Durant, Leonard and Irving directly on the market, he will be in a disadvantageous position. Therefore, Butler needs to strike first by joining a relatively weak team and offering outstanding performances before the team will consider offering him a big contract, said Su.
Andrew Wiggins #22 and Karl-Anthony Towns #32 may not be the only reason of why Butler wants to leave Minnesota so badly. /VCG Photo
If Butler leaves for another team, he can sign at most a five-year contract for some 190 million US dollars in summer 2019, meaning that he can receive over 40 million US dollars in his 30s. If he stays, he can choose to sign a maximum extension contract with the Timberwolves or accept a four-year 14 million US dollar contract from another team.
(Top picture: Jimmy Butler of NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves. /VCG Photo)