PHILADELPHIA (94WIP) -- Jimmy Butler has informed the Minnesota Timeberwolves he will sit out for Wednesday night's game against the Utah Jazz.
Last week, Charania reported that while Houston Rockets made the strongest offer, it wasn't strong enough, and the Philadelphia 76ers and/or Miami Heat could jump back in trade talks for Butler.
Before the season began, ESPN's Zach Lowe reported that Butler "has eyes for the Sixers."
The latest Butler report comes on the morning after the Sixers were dominanted by the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night, in a game where Kawhi Leonard shut down Ben Simmons. Simmons had a career-high 11 turnovers and Leonard had 31 points. The Sixers are 4-4 and were beaten rather easily by Milwaukee, Boston, and Toronto already.
Butler, 29, has a player option in 2019-20 before becoming a free agent. So he's essentially a one-year rental.
At 6-foot-8, Butler is one of the best two-way wings in the NBA. The four-time All-Star has averaged 20-plus point per game in each of the past four seasons, with an average true shooting percentage of 58.0.
The Sixers' four biggest player trade pieces, in no particular order, are:
1. Markelle Fultz, who continues to struggle as he tries to regain his confidence.
2. Robert Covington, who is off to an excellent start and is under contract through 2021-22 for an annual average salary of about $11.675 million. A first-team all-NBA defender, Covington and his contract could be attractive to other teams.
3. Dario Saric, who is struggling shooting the ball early (as usual), but is still on his delightful rookie deal and has a $3.48 million club option in 2019-20. Saric, in year three, has the tools to be a very valuable forward in today's modern NBA. Last season, he had a true shooting percentage of 58.2%. For comparison's sake, Klay Thompson's true shooting percentage was 59.9% last season.
4. 19-year-old Zhaire Smith because upside!
The Sixers have their first-round picks to trade in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, they own their first-round pick and Miami's first-round pick (from the Zhaire Smith trade).
The Butler situation is a tricky one because of his off-the-court personality. It's a risky move. Butler hasn't lasted on any team and he has caused dysfunction in locker rooms. But he's really, really good, and he would fit perfectly in Philadelphia (on-the-court, that is) alongside Simmons and Joel Embiid.
