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Jimmy Butler had interest in trade to Lakers

A couple of weeks ago, Jimmy Butler was dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers after he blatantly demanded a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, when those initial rumors broke, the talk of the town was a potential pairing of Butler and LeBron James.

And yet, as the initial conversation developed, there seemed to be a general belief that Butler wasn’t interested in being the No. 2 to LeBron’s No. 1. Well, as it turns out, that wasn’t necessarily the case.

According to Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus, Butler was interested in joining the Lake Show — it just didn’t work out logistically.

"Earlier in the summer, Butler had interest in joining the Lakers, but Los Angeles didn’t have the contracts available to match salaries for a swap."

Realistically, it’s probably for the best. The Lakers didn’t have to part with significant assets to acquire Butler during a season in which they probably wouldn’t have stood a shot of going all the way anyway.

Now they can retain their young talent, and hope for the best during 2019 NBA free agency, when players like Durant, Klay Thompson and Kawhi Leonard should be available.

Be disappointed if you want, Lakers fans, but what’s done is done. Butler is now a 76er, and the Lakers are still winning games at a consistent clip. If he wasn’t helping the Timberwolves win games, what makes you think he’d suddenly turn this team into a serious threat?