The 2019 NBA free agency bonanza will be one of the biggest subplots of the upcoming season and Jimmy Butler stands to be one of the most sought-after names on the star-studded group of free agents.
The 29-year-old Wolves guard has already been linked to potential destinations in Los Angeles and New York ahead of the final year of his contract (earning $20.4 million in 2018-19 with a player opt-out for next summer) in Minnesota. Those whispers will only grow louder this week after the All-Star guard requested a meeting to talk about the future with Minnesota’s brass on Monday, a story first reported by the Athletic on Saturday.
Butler’s future in Minnesota has been a sensitive subject amid a disappointing finish for Minnesota in the postseason last year and questionable chemistry with teammates like Karl Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. Butler and Wiggins didn’t mesh well on many nights on the wing and while Towns is a nice building block, it’s unclear whether he and Butler will be able to make some noise in a loaded Western Conference.
One year after getting shipped north from Chicago with two guaranteed years left on his deal, Butler turned down an extension offer from the Wolves for the same reasons that Kyrie Irving turned one down from the Celtics (Minnesota couldn’t offer fair market value based due to CBA rules on extensions).
Head coach and team president Tom Thibodeau has tried to downplay any concerns with Butler and the entire group over the summer but it’s evident that this situation will be one to watch all season long, even if the two sides are able to work through Butler's concerns on Monday.
From afar, moving Butler now is probably the smart move from a long-term perspective for Minnesota. It’s hard to make a case for them as a top-4 team in the West even if everything goes right this year and it’s going to be tough to convince Butler to stick around long-term with the bright lights of Los Angeles and New York calling if there is no clear path to a contending up north.
However, as the team’s top basketball executive and head coach, Thibodeau may have no real interest in taking a step back from a basketball standpoint this year by dealing Butler. The All-Star could force his hand by asking out now, but even if he does, Thibodeau could drag his feet by asking for an unrealistic package.
While it’s far from certain how this situation will play out, it’s an ordeal that the Celtics will be watching intently in the coming weeks.
It’s highly unlikely the C’s will get involved in any kind of bidding for Butler if he does hit the trade market this week due to their glut on the wing and future salary cap picture. Put simply, the Celtics aren’t going to able to afford to pay both Butler and Irving max deals this summer from a luxury tax standpoint.
If Butler goes anywhere before the season, the Celtics will surely be rooting for him to land out West. However, there’s no doubt that several playoff teams in the East would love to add Butler to the mix to compete with the Celtics. Let’s take a closer look at some teams to keep an eye on in that mold and what kind of trade assets they could put on the table for Minnesota.
Toronto: They already made their splash with Kawhi Leonard, but there is enough leftover talent here to get in the conversation for Butler on an expiring deal. OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam are both defensive-minded wings with plenty of promise that were expected to be a part of the Leonard trade in some form before DeMar DeRozan entered into the equation. One of those pieces, combined with a couple useful veterans on reasonable deals (CJ Miles, Fred Van Vleet, Danny Green, Norm Powell) to make the money work might be appealing to Thibodeau since it would be talent that could help keep his team competitive in the East. Dealing for another guy on an expiring deal would be a big roll of the dice for the Raptors, but they are all-in on this season already to a degree, so why not take it one step further? A core of Lowry/Butler/Leonard would be scary to matchup against in the postseason.
Philadelphia: The Sixers still have the cap room to make a run at a big name free agent next summer, so the urgency here will be limited to a degree. However, would they be willing to sacrifice the cost control of Robert Covington (signed for next four years) for another All-Star scorer to put alongside their young core? Assuming they aren’t willing to move Markelle Fultz at this point, that’s the only way the money works here. I’m guessing the Sixers would be a no on that, but it’s an intriguing thought exercise for them to speed up their contending timetable. The possibility of losing Butler after this season for nothing probably keeps them from pulling the trigger.
Milwaukee/Indiana: If Butler’s going to walk from Minnesota, neither of these franchises can feel good about their chances of keeping him next summer. Nearly the Pacers entire roster is on expiring deals outside of big names like Oladipo, so it’s hard to imagine that’s appealing to the Wolves. The Bucks aren’t moving Khris Middleton for Butler and there aren’t enough other young talents to move the needle on this roster.
Miami: The Heat should be all over Butler if he becomes available on the off chance they can entice Thibodeau to take some of their longer mid-tier contracts (James Johnson, Dion Waiters, Tyler Johnson etc.) off the books. It’s hard to envision them offering up Josh Richardson on a bargain deal (signed for next four years), but the Heat will be in a better position to gamble with the knowledge that playing in Miami long-term is a bit more appealing than most cities in the East.
Washington: Would have to be one of Otto Porter/Bradley Beal/John Wall. That’s probably not happening given they are all signed long-term.
Other NBA News and Observations
- Russell Westbrook underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee that will sideline him for at least four weeks. The point guard has been operated on three times already on this knee, so this has to be somewhat worrisome for the Thunder to be dealing with a maintenance issue before the season even begins. With Dennis Schroder on the roster now, would expect Billy Donovan to try to reduce Westbrook’s minutes more to keep him healthy.
- The Suns will be dealing with some injury woes of their own in training camp as Devin Booker underwent hand surgery over the last week that will sideline him for six weeks. That should keep him out for all of training camp and perhaps a couple weeks into the regular season. He should be back just in time for the C’s first matchup against Phoenix in early November.
- Rodney Hood accepted the Cavs' qualifying offer this week, so he will be playing for a mere $3.47 million this season after failing to drum up much interest in a tight cap market. The shooting guard will be looking for a big bounce-back season in Cleveland to rebuild his value in unrestricted free agency next summer after underwhelming performances throughout the postseason.
- In the least surprising news of the summer department, Luol Deng agreed to sign with the Wolves after getting waived by the Lakers last week.
- Joakim Noah is expected to become a free agent ahead of training camp amid reports that the Knicks plan to waive his albatross contract that still has two years and $38 million on it.
