The Minnesota Timberwolves have thought about getting under the cap to sign star forward Jimmy Butler to an extension.

As reported by Zach Lowe of ESPN, the Wolves explored this possibility but it would require them to dump two players from their roster including Andrew Wiggins:

The Wolves have explored the possibility of getting far enough under the cap — about $10 million — to extend Butler up to his max salary this summer, sources say, but that would require dumping both Wiggins and Dieng. Unlikely.

In 59 games last season — his first with the Wolves — Butler logged in 22.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and two steals per game. He was voted in as an All-Star and at the end of the season, he was named into the All-NBA Third Team and All-NBA Defensive Second Team.

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While Butler is definitely the face of the franchise, perhaps the Wolves are not looking to risk at this point in time. Butler, for all the good things he brings to the table, is injury prone.

In seven years with the league, he has only played a full season once. In the other seasons, he played some 60-70 games per year. In addition, the Wolves have to preserve its remaining assets moving forward.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau recently spoke about Butler's impact on the team, in an interview with KFAN's Dan Barreiro. He said:

“The impact that Jimmy had was tremendous. I believe we were 29-9 against the West when he played. I think he did have great impact on both Andrew and Karl. The most important statistic is the winning, and to go from 31 wins to 47 wins is a huge jump.”