The Minnesota Timberwolves finally traded disgruntled small forward Jimmy Butler, and the franchise was able to accomplish one of the goals it set for itself when this whole saga began back in September.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Timberwolves always wanted to trade Butler to an Eastern Conference team so they wouldn't have to deal with him in the Western Conference. The Houston Rockets aggressively tried to acquire Butler, but were never able to gain traction on a trade with Minnesota.
Minnesota accomplished one of the goals it set for itself in trade talks: Sending Jimmy Butler to the Eastern Conference, not to a Western rival. A deal with Philadelphia made more sense for the Timberwolves once Miami pulled Josh Richardson out of talks.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 10, 2018
The Timberwolves should have traded Jimmy Butler a long time ago, but after the four-time All-Star put a dud of performance Friday night against the Sacramento Kings, head coach and president Tom Thibodeau knew he couldn't drag this on any longer.
Butler scored 13 points on 3-of-12 shooting from the field Friday versus the Kings. He missed two free-throws in the fourth quarter which would have tied the game and also had some costly turnovers. It was evident to everyone who was watching the game that Butler didn't want to play with Minnesota.
With Jimmy Butler gone, there is no more drama in Minnesota. Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins are the new faces of the franchise and they need to produce at a high-level. Only the Oklahoma City Thunder have more money committed to two players (Russell Westbrook, Paul George). Wiggins re-signed with the Timberwolves in the summer of 2017 on a five-year deal worth in excess of $146 million, while Towns signed a $190 million extension before the season started.
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