The Jimmy Butler trade circus appears to have stalled as the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Miami Heat's trade talks have fallen apart. With the start of the regular season just waiting around the corner, a Butler trade now seems to be improbable before the opening week.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski took to Twitter the news about the failed Wolves-Heat deal.
Those talks can always start again, but Minnesota has little else, if anything, going in the marketplace. Teams had backed away because of price and belief Minny would get deal w/ Miami. Sources say owner Glen Taylor's mandate stands to his front office: Find a deal for Butler. https://t.co/LIXQwXPKkl
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 7, 2018
Butler, a four-time All-Star, listed the Heat as his preferred destination for a trade. As Wojnarowski mentioned, other teams trying to push for a Butler trade have already backed off from the race as they already believed that a Heat deal is almost surely done. The Wolves front office has reportedly shared the All-Star's medical information with the Heat, a sign that a trade is coming to a close.
But negotiations appear to have hit a dead end as Minnesota pushed for more assets from the Heat, a problem that also forced other teams to back away from trade talks. It was also reported that the Wolves don't want Dion Waiters, James Johnson, and Hassan Whiteside as part of the trade. That leaves young guns Bam Adebayo and Josh Richardson as Minny's targets, two players that the Heat considered as untouchables.
Aside from the fact that Butler wanted the Heat as a trade destination, the team's slew of defensive wingmen also attracts the Wolves. Tom Thibodeau and his team will have a gaping hole at the defensive end if Butler leaves, and the Heat's excellent 3-and-D players would definitely make up for that void.
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