Jimmy Butler trade rumors: 10 potential landing spots

1. Los Angeles Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers are the No. 1 team on Jimmy Butler’s wish list, and with Wojnarowski reporting that they’re also the frontrunner to sign Kawhi Leonard next summer, taking a gamble by trading for the disgruntled Wolves star now makes sense.

Luckily, the Clippers have a nice blend of established talent, expiring contracts and youngsters to choose from. At this point, almost everyone except rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could be expendable.

In the interest of getting Thibodeau’s attention, a trade package revolving around veteran talent like Lou Williams and Tobias Harris makes the most sense.

Lou Will is coming off his best season ever, winning his third Sixth Man of the Year award and nearly sneaking into the All-Star Game behind a career-high 22.6 points and 5.3 assists per game. His bench impact would be greatly appreciated in Minnesota.

Meanwhile, Harris averaged a career-high 18.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, shooting 41.1 percent from 3-point range. He’s still only 26, and the Timberwolves would have the inside track to re-sign him next summer.

The Wolves wouldn’t touch Danilo Gallinari‘s salary, and though Avery Bradley makes sense on paper, he (and Montrezl Harrell) can’t be dealt until Jan. 15. Maybe the Wolves get greedy and ask for a future first round pick, but the soonest the Clippers could offer one is 2022. Asking for SGA is a nonstarter, but maybe a youngster like Jerome Robinson would be available as a throw-in.

In any case, if a straight up deal doesn’t work, a three-team trade could fit the bill. The Phoenix Suns have a well-documented need for a point guard, and have reportedly made Patrick Beverley their top target.

If that’s the case, there’s a move that could make everyone happy:

T.J. Warren has “dynamic bench gunner” written all over him, so even though he can’t shoot 3s or defend well, he and Lou Williams would fill big roles off the bench as microwave scorers. The Clippers have to give up three players, including two point guards in Beverley and Milos Teodosic, but they’re all expendable in a logjammed backcourt.

The Suns go from not having a legitimate starting point guard to having too many point guards, but both Beverley and Teodosic have been mentioned as targets for Phoenix, and shipping off Warren frees up long-term cap space and short-term minutes in a crowded wing rotation.

Finally, the Clippers land Butler as their centerpiece with the inside track to re-sign him, plenty of nice auxiliary pieces around him and a good chance at signing Kawhi Leonard next summer. At that point, their middle-of-the-road rebuild would be looking up in a hurry.