Leonard was included (going to the Kings). I agree that keeping Harkless over Turner would be preferable. But if we're talking about getting Butler without giving up CJ OR Collins, beggars can't be choosers.
This is not a bad suggestion. The Kings are being stupid, but they're the Kings, and the rumor's out there that they want to help, so... However, you've got to think the Wolves can do better. Also, wouldn't that leave us with essentially an entire team of shooting guards?
Sacramento has been interested in Harkless in the past, and they could still be interested just by looking at how their roster is set up. He fits into their cap space. Not sure how it would tie into a Butler deal, just thought I’d bring it up. Maybe Minnesota doesn’t want any contracts that go beyond this season. This would allow us to give them someone like Aminu (and our pick)
Still have Nurkic, Dieng, Collins, Swanigan, and Layman. I also consider Turner and Butler both to be SF's. Rotation would probably be Dame/CJ/Butler/Collins/Nurkic with 2nd unit of Curry/Turner/Layman/Dieng and 3rd string Baldwin/Simons/Stauskas/Swanigan. Definitely room to add a couple bigs (Oliver and Onuaku are already in camp), but not really ridiculously unbalanced.
As already mentioned above, we'd have 4 bigs (Nurk, Collins, Dieng, Swanigan) and 2 open roster spots to balance out the roster. We'd also have 4 guys who could play PG (Dame, Curry, Baldwin, and CJ) and 4 guys who can play SF (Butler, Layman, Turner, and Stauskas). It's not as SG heavy as you think.
Yeah, I mentioned Leonard going to Sacramento but if they wanted Harkless instead of the pick then the pick could go to Minnesota.
I like this thought a lot. Instead of Harkless/Aminu, can we please swap out ET? Something like this: Blazers -> Butler & Dieng Kings -> Meyers & 2019 Pick Wolves -> ET, Trent, & Koufos (or Z-Bo) I think Kings would be more likely to do the trade if they only take on 1 yr of additional salary. Sending out Koufos (or Z-Bo) would preserve most of their cap space this year & allow them to find another trade or two. We know Thibs thinks ET is under-rated. The deal I put above also gives Minny a big back (preferably a C) to replace Dieng. They'd only have 3 bigs available (KAT, Gibson, Tolliver) after trading Dieng with Patton injured.
Minnesota are not going to give Butler up for nothing, it’s just not happening. This could only occur if they knew they couldn’t get ANY deal for him but they can. He might be the only Superstar in the league who is available for teams that can’t compete now, that alone makes him a valuable asset.
What are the teams that can't compete now, but could compete if they had Butler? I suspect the number of teams is very limited, and hence the market for Butler is limited. But all it takes is two teams to start a bidding war.
I don’t mean compete to win title, more like compete to have a positive record - Nets, Clippers are good examples, they will be below .500 but would be above with him.
Man..... if I was the owner of the Wolves I would be pissed at my front office. It really seems like they're stalling because they think they can talk Butler off the ledge.
Sure, but the only reason either would trade for him is to obtain his Bird Rights because he named them as teams he'd like to go to and re-sign with. Outside of the "named" teams, I think there are very few teams that make sense as a trade partner for various reasons - OKC and HOU in the West, and BOS or TOR in the east, with a couple of "cusp" teams like us in the mix. Now subtract out any teams that don't have decent trade assets, and who is left? I don't know what all the various rosters look like to know who has what assets...I'd just be surprised if there are more than 3 teams that make sense as potential trade partners. But then, there are a lot of dumb GMs in the league...or guys looking to save their job with a big trade.
This guy lists us as one of four teams that should be willing to risk a trade for Butler. But he also has concerns about Butler's durability and points out that he has played more minutes per game than any other player in the last five years. Also concerned about how he would co-exist with another ball-dominant guard. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-teams-that-should-and-shouldnt-trade-for-jimmy-butler/
Its like real estate around here, create an auction frenzy with supply and demand coupled with market dynamics, you usually get more than what you expected. It's smart to wait and I still thing Butler and his Coach have an understanding that something will get done.
