Less than a week away from the start of training camp for the 2018-19 Minnesota Timberwolves, it is being reported that Jimmy Butler has requested a trade.
According to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, when Butler and Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau met on Tuesday, Butler told Thibodeau he wanted to be traded and that he would not be signing a long-term extension with the Timberwolves.
Jimmy Butler has requested a trade from the Timberwolves, league sources tell me and @ShamsCharania. Butler has given Minnesota a list of 1-3 teams with which he is open to signing a contract extension.
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) September 19, 2018
Solid start to the first season following up the Wolves first playoff appearance since 2004, right? Seems like a lifetime ago that Butler was winning over all of Minnesota by giving out his phone number at his press conference after he was traded to the Timberwolves.
Now we are all sitting here wondering what is next. Adrian Wojnarowski from ESPN tweeted out who the potential three teams are that Butler would be willing to be traded to.
Minnesota's Jimmy Butler has three preferred destinations for a trade, league sources tell ESPN: The Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks. Those three teams have max cap space to sign Butler as a free agent in July.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 19, 2018
The bad part about those three teams listed is that they all don’t really have the pieces to make for a solid return for Minnesota.