A Closer Look at Jimmy Butler Leaving Minnesota to Team Up with Kyrie Irving

Expect a trade soon. . .

Friday night, Jimmy Butler declined a 4-year $100 million extension. Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said, “We offered him the extension, and they’ve met and come back to us and said they’re really appreciative of it, they appreciate that we got to them right away, but they declined it.”

Contrary to ESPN believing Butler is turning down this deal to seek a max-contract summer, when he can opt out and become a free agent – he’s trying to leave the Timberwolves immediately.

With the LeBron James free agency saga finally over, teams are still looking to make off-season moves (see: San Antonio and Kawhi Leonard). In a previous report, it was revealed that Jimmy had become frustrated with the lack of heart from both KAT and Andrew Wiggins.

Last spring, Minnesota was bounced from the playoffs by Houston, in a five-game 1st round series. This didn’t sit well with Butler, who was vocally frustrated with the team’s performance, including fellow starters not taking him seriously. While some believe a pairing with LeBron James is likely, the Cleveland Cavaliers were one of the teams active at trade deadline and really wanted Jimmy.

However, the King didn’t want the no-nonsense player in Butler on his team; who felt Jimmy wouldn’t stand in a corner like the rest of his teammates in Cleveland. In our opinion, what pushed Butler over the edge, was Tom Thibodeau’s official reunion with Derrick Rose.

In Chicago, Jimmy and Rose had respectable disagreements on how the team should be ran, including feeling Derrick didn’t have the same work ethic as him. So, at the moment, the Wolves are at a catch-22 with this Jimmy situation. They’re unsure whether they should offer him more money, which is something they don’t want to do; or flat out make a trade this month.

Butler wants out immediately and could hit the market back east; which has previously been rumored to be his plans for summer 2019. Along with Kyrie Irving having a fallout with the Boston Celtics, after Danny Ainge tried to trade him last month for Kawhi Leonard; the two are already could be planning a pairing next year, when both are unrestricted free agents.

Let us know in the comments what you think of the Jimmy Butler situation; and whether or not he should trust Minnesota or team up with Uncle Drew next year.

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