Ranking NBA teams by tiers for 2018-19 season

The Reclamation Projects

Minnesota Timberwolves, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers

A Jimmy Butler trade could very easily swing the 2018-19 season outlook for two or even three of these teams. For the Minnesota Timberwolves, it’s very obvious they’ll be in trouble in the Western Conference playoff picture if they do the sensible thing and move Jimmy Buckets to avoid losing him for nothing in 2019 free agency.

However, Tom Thibodeau believes he can change his favorite TimberBull’s mind and is being more stubborn than a mule, only if that mule were also named Tom Thibodeau. So with the prospect of a trade looking less and less likely to occur before the start of the new season, there’s a decent chance he’s forced to play out an incredibly awkward campaign in the Twin Cities.

The Wolves will be in the playoff picture if that’s the case, but due to injury concerns and the likelihood he’s traded, Minnesota has to be on the outside looking in. Karl-Anthony Towns is an otherworldly talent, but until he and Andrew Wiggins set the example defensively, the Wolves just aren’t a playoff-caliber team without Butler.

The two most likely teams to trade for Butler, the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers, aren’t real threats to win a playoff series unless they make such a move. The Heat are well-balanced enough to make the postseason in a weaker East, but don’t have a franchise star. Their highest-paid player is also a nightly threat to sound off in the locker room if and when he doesn’t get enough minutes, which is becoming a recurring problem for him in this small-ball NBA.

It’d take quite a bit of jelling for the Clips to make the cut out West, even with a healthier Danilo Gallinari (never a full guarantee) and Tobias Harris and Lou Williams being borderline All-Stars. A Jimmy Butler trade could drastically alter these tiers, but at this point, these three teams feel like they’ll be reclamation projects a year from now.