Jimmy Butler isn’t worth the price for the Toronto Raptors
Jimmy Butler has requested a trade. While the thought of adding him is enticing, the Toronto Raptors should think twice about making another big move.
Training camp is set to open on September 25th. For most teams, their young players have already been in town for a couple of weeks. Veteran players are slowly starting to filter in. General Managers have already set their rosters. This is supposed to be an uneventful time of year. Then news broke on Wednesday. Jimmy Butler had requested a trade. He no longer wants to play for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
NBA writers have been having a field day at the Wolves’ expense over the last couple of weeks. Many outlets had dubbed them the Timber-Bulls.
The team recently signed Luol Deng to a one-year contract for the veteran minimum. The move reunited Deng with three other former Bulls in Butler, Derrick Rose, and Taj Gibson. Now the most prominent player of the group wants out.
The Timberwolves acquired Butler in June 2017. This past season, Butler led the Wolves to the post-season for the first time in 14 years. Earlier this summer, Butler turned down a contract extension. However, it was seen by most as a financial decision. Butler can sign a more lucrative contract next summer.
Butler had a rocky first season in Minnesota. He has publicly questioned the effort of Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. Towns is eligible to sign his rookie-scale contract extension. However, Shams Charania reported that Towns does not want to make any decisions until the Butler situation is resolved.