The Jimmy Butler trade fiasco languishes into its third week, two things are abundantly clear-the Army Corps of Engineers cannot rebuild the bridge between Butler and the Timberwolves and whenever they ultimately move Butler, they will not get back fair market value back or even as much talent and assets they sent to acquire him in the first place.
The later seems to already be playing itself out in their talks with the Miami Heat. The Heat offered Josh Richardson and a protected first round pick in exchange for the disgruntled star guard. The New York Times’ Marc Stein reports the pick anf Richardson “headlined” the package the Heat offered before
“talked broke down twice.”
As I stated earlier and as does Stein in his report that “Minnesota really can’t hope to do better under these dire circumstances”, it is more likely than not this will be the best offer that will come their way and the Timberwolves may regret not closing this deal.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the discussions between the Heat and Timberwolves “advanced to the brink of a blockbuster trade”before ultimately disintegrating.
With this deal failing to become a reality, the Timberwolves must be prepared to deal with the very real chance that Jimmy Butler will be on their roster when the season commences.
