The Minnesota Timberwolves should not trade for Jimmy Butler

The Minnesota Timberwolves have shown interest in Chicago Bulls small forward Jimmy Butler. This is a move the Wolves should avoid as they prepare for next season.

Jimmy Butler has been the topic of trade talk for a while now. With a lot of anticipated NBA moves this offseason, it would not be surprising if the Chicago Bulls traded Butler to another team. The Minnesota Timberwolves reportedly reached out to the Bulls about a possible trade for the three-time NBA All-Star.

At 27 years old, Butler’s NBA career is going very well. He has made the All-Star team every single season since winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player of the Year award during the 2014-15 season. He is an established talent that is in the prime of his career. From strictly a talent standpoint, Jimmy Butler would be a great addition to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In addition to that, Butler already has a great relationship with head coach Tom Thibodeau. Butler played for him at Chicago where Thibodeau helped develop him into the great player he is today. Thibs would acclimate Butler with the Wolves roster right away and have him playing at a high level right out of the gate.

Why should the Timberwolves avoid this trade?

There are a couple of key reasons that the Minnesota Timberwolves should avoid trading for Jimmy Butler. The thought of having him on the roster is nice in theory, but acquiring him will put the team in a bad position.

The first reason is because the Wolves would have to offer multiple players to match Butler’s salary. In order to make the trade work they would have to give up a combination of two quality players like Zach LaVine, Ricky Rubio and Gorgui Dieng.

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The Wolves can not afford to do that because right now because their biggest problem is their bench depth. This move would effectively make their starting lineup better and leave them with far less depth than last season.

The second reason is because they would have to throw in a draft pick or two to make the trade more desirable and stand out from other offers. The Wolves are in a good position heading into this draft to upgrade their starting lineup by drafting a power forward with the seventh pick.

That kind of move would send Dieng to the bench and improve the Wolves bench overall by doing so. Giving up this year’s draft pick in addition to two other quality players gives the Wolves one excellent player instead of three good players.

To demonstrate the lack of depth they will have if they make this trade, both possible lineups are below. For trade purposes we used a trade of Jimmy Butler for Zach LaVine, Ricky Rubio and the Wolves’ 2017 first round pick.

Here is the Wolves’ potential 2017-18 lineup if they traded for Butler:

PG – Kris Dunn
SG – Jimmy Butler
SF – Andrew Wiggins
PF – Gorgui Dieng
C – Karl-Anthony Towns
Bench – Tyus Jones, Nemanja Bjelica, Cole Aldrich

This starting lineup has more star power, but that is honestly about it. In addition, the Wolves are worse at the point guard position and do not improve the power forward position. Furthermore the bench will be considerably worse.

The Wolves do have money to pick up some bench players in free agency. They would be banking on that, because the bench must improve if they want to make the playoffs.

Here is the Wolves potential 2017-18 lineup if they do not trade for Butler:

PG – Ricky Rubio
SG – Zach LaVine
SF – Andrew Wiggins
PF – Lauri Markkanen/Jonathan Isaac (2017 NBA Draft)
C – Karl-Anthony Towns
Bench – Gorgui Dieng, Kris Dunn, Tyus Jones, Nemanja Bjelica, Cole Aldrich

This is the much better option for the Timberwolves. Their starting lineup improves or stays the same at every single position and they add bench depth. They can also sign a free agent to add additional depth just like if they traded for Butler. This is the clear better choice and will better for the team this upcoming season and for the long-term.

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The only way the Minnesota Timberwolves should consider a trade with the Chicago Bulls is if they are willing to trade Jimmy Butler without a draft pick involved (highly unlikely) and the Wolves have a great plan in place to add some bench depth to the team. Otherwise the Wolves should remain the course they are currently on.

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