Minnesota Timberwolves: 2017-18 player grades for Jimmy Butler

There was no question that Jimmy Butler was the biggest piece to the Minnesota Timberwolves making the playoffs. Here’s a look at his 2017-18 season.

The Minnesota Timberwolves finally broke the NBA’s longest playoff drought this season. After a long 14 years, the Wolves set out to bring in veterans that could help push them into the playoffs.

There were a lot of new faces and a lot of fan favorite players that were sent out. One of those new faces was All-Star Jimmy Butler, brought in by a trade on draft night. The deal included sending Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the seventh overall pick (Lauri Markkanen) to the Chicago Bulls for Butler and the 16th overall pick (Justin Patton).

I think it’s safe to say both teams are happy with the trade. Hopefully LaVine can come back 100 percent next year, but the Bulls enjoyed a great year from Dunn and their new rookie. Looking at this season alone, it was a trade that benefited both teams.

Butler is 28 years old and has just completed his seventh season in the NBA. The expectations were for him to help lead the Wolves to the playoffs, teach the younger players and continue to be an All-Star. He did all those things and more.

This season, Butler made the All-Star game for the fourth time — despite not logging any minutes in that game. He also played a huge role in getting Minnesota to the playoffs. He’s not the sole reason the Timberwolves were able to make it, but he was the biggest reason they were able to get over the hump.

This season he averaged 22.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. He affected the game on both offense and defense, all while shooting 47.4 percent from the floor and 35.0 percent from 3.

In the playoffs he averaged 15.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 0.8 steals per game. There’s no question he wasn’t the same player we saw in the regular season. In his defense, he was banged up with a hand, knee and ankle injury.

With the Wolves’ season behind us, lets take a look at Butler’s season in review.