Jimmy Butler was excused from Media Day in Minneapolis on Monday. Odds are that he will miss the start of training camp Tuesday. In the meantime, the entire NBA is on pins and needles awaiting word from the Timberwolves on what road they plan to take in trading Butler.
Sources around the NBA told GetMoreSports.com that Wolves’ owner Glen Taylor was driving the bus on the constantly evolving trade discussions, and the three teams considered the most likely landing spots were the Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat.
Leaked information — some of it untruthful — has given many teams the impression that the Wolves are conducting a firesale, which has spurned interest from teams that did not initially think they would have a chance.
Butler would prefer a trade to the Nets, Knicks or Clippers, but all indications from Madison Square Garden point toward the Knicks sticking with their plan to wait until next summer to decide what to do with the two max salary slots they will have.
Word circulated around the NBA over the weekend that Brooklyn could get Butler in exchange for D’Angelo Russell (a close friend of Karl Anthony-Towns), Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and another player or two whose salaries would make the deal work under NBA rules.
But there was conflicting information coming in to GetMoreSports about the accuracy of that chatter. Butler rumors have been whirling since Friday when he told management he wanted to be dealt, and teams outside of New York, Los Angeles and Miami were being cautious, knowing that Butler could end up being a one-season rental since he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Still, when a talent like that is on the market, teams take gambles. That is the reason Kawhi Leonard is in Toronto instead of playing for the Lakers or Clippers as he would have preferred.
And much like the Leonard situation, the team holding the leverage is the Timberwolves, who can afford to sit and wait until they get an offer they cannot refuse. But the risk in doing so is having a circus atmosphere surrounding the team when training camp opens, along with upsetting their franchise center, Towns.
The trick in this deal is making Towns happy, making Taylor happy and making Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau happy.
Butler’s happiness is not a concern to Minnesota.
Here are the odds on where Butler will be playing on Opening Night:
One of the many x-factors in the Butler trade scenarios was the role of agent Leon Rose, who represents Towns.
Rose has been known to plant misinformation in the media in order to create false leverage, which is what happened in 2010 and 2011 when Anthony forced a trade to the New York Knicks while the New Jersey Nets were being led to believe that they had a realistic shot of landing ‘Melo, which was not the case.
But back then, the misinformation took hold in the rumor-driven sports journalism universe.
And the misinformation that was being leaked from several places was one of the factors that prompted Knicks owner James Dolan to take over trade negotiations from Knicks president Donnie Walsh, which ended up costing the Knicks much more than Walsh was willing to pay.
With ownership in Minnesota heavily involved in the Butler decision, everyone with an interest in getting their clients to more preferred destinations is feeding and working the rumor mill.
And let’s all remember, this is standard operating procedure in the NBA when a high-value player suddenly goes on the trade market.
For now, let’s look at a couple deals involving the favorites that would work under NBA salary cap rules.
This trade becomes appealing for the Wolves because it gets them off the final season of Dieng’s contract, brings in a center that the Nets love (Allen) and gives them $23 million in expiring contracts in Faried and Dudley.
Harris turned down an extension from the Clippers over the summer, and when you do a thing like that, you often find yourself on the trading block. This would be another deal that allows Minnesota to get off the Dieng contract.
Most importantly, it is one of Butler’s preferred destinations, so a wink-wink deal on a max contract next summer would presumably be part of the equation.
Not the most appealing trade for the Wolves compared to what they may be able to get elsewhere, but it gets them off the Dieng contract (do not underestimate how important that could be in any deal) and gives them a building block in Winslow. Josh Richardson might be a more appealing player for the Wolves, but in order for that to happen the trade would have to become larger and would have to include Hassan Whiteside, who may be the most untradeable player in the NBA right now.
No matter what happens, remember this: The leverage belongs to Taylor.
Whether he can figure out how to use it, and whether he wants to put himself on a quicker timetable than necessary, are two extraordinarily key components.
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