Butler requests trade...

[Lipoli390]

It's even worse that Jimmy having a list of only 3 teams he wants to be traded two. His list actually has a clear favorite - the Clippers. The Knicks seem to be a solid second, but the Nets seem a very distant 3rd and perhaps not solid enough in Jimmy's mind to give the Nets enough comfort they could re-sign him next summer.

The other bad news is the apparently Thibodeau's immediate reaction to Jimmy's demand was that "he wants to win now." Oh shit. That would mean settling for sold vets in return rather than using this moment to help retool around our young talent - KAT, Wiggins and even Tyus and Okogie.

Here's the relevant excerpt from Woj's article:

"Butler told Minnesota president of basketball operations and coach Tom Thibodeau that he would like to be traded before reporting for Timberwolves media day on Monday and prefers the possibility of the Clippers -- as well as the New York Knicks, league sources said. Butler told the Timberwolves that he planned to leave the franchise in free agency next summer, sources said.

The Brooklyn Nets' ability to sign two max free agents in the summer will keep them in consideration for Butler, but he has prioritized the Clippers and Knicks over them, league sources said.

Thibodeau's initial reaction to the trade request was that he wanted to win now, and trading Butler would almost assuredly bring back a package that would diminish the Timberwolves' chances in the short-term, league sources said.

The Clippers have a roster that includes a blend of good, hard-playing veterans (Tobias Harris, Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams) and talented young guards who could appeal to Thibodeau's desire to surround All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns and forward Andrew Wiggins with playoff-competent talent.

Nevertheless, it remains uncertain how much -- if anything -- the Clippers would trade for a player whom the team could sign this summer without surrendering any assets."

[Duke13]

[Sang] Hoo boy. Scoop just confirmed what I think we all suspected after the Shams report: KAT's terms are specifically for Jimmy to be off the roster. So yeah, this ain't about money. This is something crazy personal between them

https://twitter.com/Phantele_/status/1042524320424226816

maybe there is some truth to jimmy causing the break up between kat and his girl in july.

I guess this what jimmy meant by mentoring the younger players.

Bobby Phils just called. Every NBA feud is about a woman or a gambling debt.

https://www.barstoolsports.com/viral/the-internet-is-saying-that-jimmy-butler-had-sex-with-karl-anthony-towns-girlfriend-and-that-towns-is-forcing-butler-out-of-minnesota

[Duke13]

The BUTLER did it!

[Duke13]

In the bedroom...

[Duke13]

With his...

[Porckchop]

Will Smith's Butler provided me with more Years of entertainment

[KG4Ever]

It's even worse that Jimmy having a list of only 3 teams he wants to be traded two. His list actually has a clear favorite - the Clippers. The Knicks seem to be a solid second, but the Nets seem a very distant 3rd and perhaps not solid enough in Jimmy's mind to give the Nets enough comfort they could re-sign him next summer.

The other bad news is the apparently Thibodeau's immediate reaction to Jimmy's demand was that "he wants to win now." Oh shit. That would mean settling for sold vets in return rather than using this moment to help retool around our young talent - KAT, Wiggins and even Tyus and Okogie.

Here's the relevant excerpt from Woj's article:

"Butler told Minnesota president of basketball operations and coach Tom Thibodeau that he would like to be traded before reporting for Timberwolves media day on Monday and prefers the possibility of the Clippers -- as well as the New York Knicks, league sources said. Butler told the Timberwolves that he planned to leave the franchise in free agency next summer, sources said.

The Brooklyn Nets' ability to sign two max free agents in the summer will keep them in consideration for Butler, but he has prioritized the Clippers and Knicks over them, league sources said.

Thibodeau's initial reaction to the trade request was that he wanted to win now, and trading Butler would almost assuredly bring back a package that would diminish the Timberwolves' chances in the short-term, league sources said.

The Clippers have a roster that includes a blend of good, hard-playing veterans (Tobias Harris, Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams) and talented young guards who could appeal to Thibodeau's desire to surround All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns and forward Andrew Wiggins with playoff-competent talent.

Nevertheless, it remains uncertain how much -- if anything -- the Clippers would trade for a player whom the team could sign this summer without surrendering any assets."

If Glen is rational (that's up for debate), Thibs will have nothing to do with trading Jimmy as he will be relieved of his GM duties and hopefully all duties. While I'm no Layden fan (I would prefer Milt Newton), I would still rather him make the trade rather than Thibs who would continue sacrificing the future to pad his personal win stats. There is a lot of talk on Twitter to name Ryan Saunders as interim coach. I could live with a Layden/Saunders combo for now although I hope we can bring in a a better GM candidate by next off-season.

[JasonIsDaMan [enjin:7981157]]

Someone may have pointed it out, but it's telling that LAL is not on the list. He knows he can't run roughshot over that locker room. I'm also upset that I'll probably never get a chance to hear Grandpa Sports interview Lavar Ball.

I did see where someone said it will turn out because he named 3 teams. Oh, you mean like that time Johan named three teams?

The minute NYK was mentioned 3 months ago, they should have done Butler/Dieng/Patton for Kanter/Noah/Knox. Between Butler pushing the issue and Patton's injury, not sure they can still get that done. But if that were to be worked out, the Wolves would get a good young wing, Kanter is better than Dieng, Noah has one less year than Dieng and hopefully healthier than Patton, and they could sign a 15th player without paying the lux because they would save $2.3m.

I'd like that deal for the Wolves, but I don't think the Knicks would give up Knox, in which case, it would't be a good deal for the Wolves. Yes, the Wolves should have dealt Butler months ago as a few of use were urging at the time. But we all knew Thibodeau wouldn't never deal his beloved Butler - instead adding as many of Jimmy's former teammates as he could get. Thibodeau's a stubborn obsessive-compulsive guy whose myopic attachment to Jimmy has led to where we're at today. The first order of business before making any further personnel should be replacing Thibodeau with someone capable of leading the Wolves front office and making sound decisions.

Before this Mishigas, I would have said there was a chance. Remember, whomever trades for him, if it's those 3, is the front runner to resign him because of the Bird rights.

Is it Thibs, or is he just trying to do the best he can to work around Taylor's meddling?

There is absolutely no evidence or sign of any meddling by Taylor. Of course this is all Thibs - and Jimmy!

You're right about the advantage to a team that trades for him. It even gives an advantage to a team that would otherwise have the cap room to sign him because with Bird rights would come the option to re-sign him for 5 rather than 4 years. So the team that trades for him can offer him about $48 million more over the term of his next contract. So yes, there might be a team not on his list that's willing to step up and offer decent value for him similar to the Thunder when they traded for PG and the Raptors this summer when they traded for KL.

Some teams I'd keep my eye on as potential suitors beyond Jimmy's anointed three would be the Heat, Nuggets and Celtics.

Not seeing anything workable with BOS (they have a really clean cap), but maybe they package Smart/Brown if they have an extension in place pre-trade. Does DEN do JB/GD for Milsap and pay the Lux? Does MIA have any first's they can throw into a JB/TJohnson swap? Expand the MIA deal to JB/GD for TJ/KO/picks?

My favorite trade partner so far is NYK. BKN doing JB/GD for Carroll/Faried isn't horrible.

You know what? I like my NYK suggestion best. Then JB/GD/JP to LAC for Harris/Gortat/Harrell. Everything else is tied for 3rd.

Thibs: If you're reading this, if you pull off either the NYK trade of the LAC trade, I apologize for everything I said about you in the past or will say about you in the future. I won't be caught dead in that fluorescent green jersey, but we'll be cool.

[Crazysauce]

After seeing this about kats gf and jimmy and wuth wiggins bro i cant say it wouldnt be interesting watching them play with each other next year. Kat needs to just come out and say it. If she slept with jimmy that just shows she is a skank. No need to be upset for kat as better to find out now than later. Hell jimmy did kat a favor by sleeping with his girl.

[Monster]

A couple more thoughts.

1. Weirdly I actually have some legit faith in Thibs and Layden getting value back for Butler. They pulled or a 1st round pick for Rubio. The Butler deal is not looking good right now but at the time it was considered a heist or at least a fair deal. Thibs is stubborn enough to tell people he will keep Butler. He didn't trade Rubio for a broken Rose he got a 1st round pick and then ended up getting Rose for the vet min. Thibs isn't a complete idiot valuing players.

2. Wait you are telling me there are reports Thibs doesn't want to trade Jimmy? No that can't be right. Who WANTS to trade top 20 players? Nobody really does. If healthy this team could absolutely win a bunch of games. What is Thibs supposed to do tell everyone he is defeated and give up all his leverage? Flip said he would bring back Love for his last year. Whether or not it was a bluff he seemed pretty convincing.

3. As much as I feel confident in Thibs getting some kind of value back in a deal I'm not sure about him coaching this team going forward. It really depends on what we get back. If Butler is gone and Thibs actually loosened the reins (I know it's unlikley*) maybe it would work. If this is basically a young team with a couple guys like Taj Deng and Teague along for the ride till their contracts run out it seems tough to imagine Thins being the right guy. Of course then you have to ask yourself who is? And who are you going to get that helps more than rolling with Thibs and hoping it work out better? It's a bad situation.

* As much as a few of us appreciates Butler's game I think everyone here would agree Butler at times was part of the problem in the floor offensively as well. He was slow getting up the court. He would take over things at times with mixed results. Is it possible that Jimmy being gone and another more complimentary player helps this team be more free flowing including getting up and down the floor even under Thibs? We are likely to find out.

Jamal Murray and Garry Harris would be fantastic. A friend of mine sent me an article about the Blazer should go all in and trade C.J. McCollum for Butler. OMG that would be amazing I would drive Jimmy to the airport. Yeah I'd drive all the way to LA to do it! :)

The nets don't have wildily interesting players to get back but I wouldn't mind getting Crabbe back in a deal. I think Deangelo Russell if he could stay healthy has some talent and I think would be interesting as a shooting guard. He is pretty much the same size as Lavine but less athletic. The Nets could send us a number of draft picks also. I'd hope for more but that package has a chance at paying off. The article about the Blazers make me think there will be some team come out of nowhere with some kind of interesting offer that either actually deals for Butler or makes a team up their offer...to be decent. I'm not expecting a massive return but the right deal could help this team a bit this season give the team some room at some point when it comes to salary some young/future assets. The right front office and coach can get something out of that type of move. Thibs may need to channel 2017-2018 Doc Rivers coaching.