NBA Trade Grades: Bulls to send Jimmy Butler to Timberwolves

Minnesota Timberwolves

Make your jokes about Thibs running Jimmy Butler into the ground again if you must. Actually, go ahead and do that, because it’s a legitimate concern for the soon-to-be 28-year-old.

In any case, the Timberwolves did extremely well to spin three shaky assets into a bonafide superstar like Jimmy Buckets, even if he’s not quite on the same timeline as Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins.

Butler is one of the best two-way players in the league and is capable of playing either the 2 or the 3, which works perfectly with Wiggins sliding back and forth between those positions as well. Adding a skilled and versatile veteran will not only help Minnesota as a team, but should provide a great example for Wiggins as well.

Suddenly, the T-Wolves went from a bummer of a situation, waiting for LaVine to recover and wondering if Dunn would ever pan out, to adding a borderline top-10 player. Passing on Markkanen or Malik Monk in the draft is perfectly acceptable in that scenario, especially since the Wolves were able to get Chicago to see all three of their assets through rose-colored glasses.

Between Butler, Wiggins and KAT, the Timberwolves are finally back on the playoff path, which they were expected to be on this past season. There’s legitimate reason for excitement for a fanbase that hasn’t seen the postseason since 2004.

The “Bounce Brothers” moniker may be dead, but Minnesota’s underwhelming defense (ranked No. 26 in the league last year) should see a decent turnaround and in time, the Wolves could have two very good two-way players on the wing to lock opponents down.

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LaVine was a potentially special player, Dunn isn’t for sure a bust and Markkanen’s shooting ability is very real, but the Timberwolves were rightfully willing to package them together for a legitimate game-changer — especially since they were able to get Chicago’s 16th overall pick.

The Wolves used that selection on Creighton center Justin Patton, one of the top frontcourt prospects in the draft. Cole Aldrich was decent as a backup, but having his upside and a little extra depth/youth at center is a solid move for a team that’s starting to round out the edges.

There’s still a question as to what the Wolves will do at the point guard spot for the long-term. It’s no secret Ricky Rubio has been on the trade block for quite some time, Dunn is gone and Tyus Jones isn’t the solution.

Next: 2017 NBA Draft grades for all 30 teams

However, for the time being, this is a solid all-around move. Keeping Rubio is actually the best play for this young group, especially with another dynamic scorer on the wing to facilitate to. This is a coup for the Minnesota Timberwolves, no doubt.

Grade: A-