Jimmy Butler lists LA Clippers as one of three preferred landing spots
By Blake Harris
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the LA Clippers are one of three teams that Jimmy Butler would be open to signing an extension with.
It was a quiet Wednesday morning, until Shams Charania shocked the NBA world. According to his Twitter, Minnesota Timberwolves star Jimmy Butler has requested a trade.
When the news was announced, it was reported that there are up to three teams in which he would be open to signing an extension with, though it was unknown which teams were reportedly in the running.
However, less than an hour later, we had our three teams, courtesy of ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski: the Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers, and New York Knicks.
There’s been reports of Butler and Kyrie Irving potentially teaming up in New York, so those two teams don’t come as much of a shock. The surprising team is the LA Clippers.
It’s already well-known the Clips will be making a strong push in order to sign Kawhi Leonard next season, so this could be the beginning of an all-out campaign.
Butler is under contract for the next two seasons, so with him in LA for next season, it will make joining the Clippers that much more enticing for Leonard.
The question at hands is, what do the Clippers offer to acquire Butler?
Butler for Danilo Gallinari works straight up, but it’s unlikely the Timberwolves do a deal like that. However, The Athletic’s Jovan Buha has other ideas:
But who knows, maybe that will be the best offer. The Clippers easily have the most to offer, as the Nets and Knicks likely won’t be wanting to part ways with their young guys.
It’s difficult to imagine the Clips trading one of their rookies as well. Much has been made of the duo working together and becoming the backcourt of the future in Los Angeles.
Overall, this will be very interesting to follow, as a trade is likely to happen fairly soon. Per The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski, it could be as soon as next week.