NBA week 4 recap: Caris LeVert injury and Jimmy Butler trade assessment
Minnesota’s outlook after Butler trade
We’ll get to the Philadelphia 76ers’ side of the Jimmy Butler trade in a little, but the Minnesota Timberwolves locker room can rest easy knowing their embattled star has his wish and was traded elsewhere. They may not have received a slew of draft picks and young stars, but they should be content with their return in terms of filling out a team.
The Wolves received Robert Covington on a team-friendly contract and Dario Saric, who has a couple years left on his rookie deal until he reaches restricted free agency. A 2022 second round pick is not major in anyway, but RoCo and Saric give the Wolves an intriguing team, if head coach Tom Thibodeau is willing to deploy a modern offense.
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With Jimmy Butler on the team and Andrew Wiggins heavy in the rotation, having a healthy amount of ball movement and shooting was difficult to come by. Partner this with Thibs’ unimaginative playbook and you get an offense that relied heavily on isolation basketball with limited spacing. That changes now.
RoCo and Saric are both solid 3-point shooters, with the latter providing plenty of playmaking and an inside game as well. These two space the floor and increase ball movement, which should lead to a more pleasing offense visually. On the defensive end, RoCo is the prototypical Thibs player as a long, athletic wing that can guard multiple positions and log lots of minutes.
These two, along with rookie Josh Okogie, are a perfect five to play around their franchise cornerstones, Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. These two have had their development stunted with Butler on the team, but have no excuses now with space everywhere. Saric, in particular, is the perfect complement to KAT with his playmaking and shooting.
This team has been a tough watch this season, outside of the Derrick Rose resurgence. But a trio of new faces, including the pair they received in offloading Butler, should help move Minnesota into the modern era and put their cornerstones at the forefront of their plans.