MIAMI (AP) — All-Star forward Jimmy Butler is now a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, after they and the Minnesota Timberwolves received approval from the league office Monday on the terms of the trade that was agreed to over the weekend.
Butler and Justin Patton were traded for Philadelphia, in exchange for Robert Covington, Dario Saric and Jerryd Bayless along with a 2022 second-round draft pick.
Butler will be introduced by the 76ers on Tuesday and is expected to debut with his new club Wednesday at Orlando. Philadelphia is playing at Miami on Monday.
The deal gives Philadelphia a legitimate "Big Three" with Butler joining All-Star forward Joel Embiid and reigning rookie of the year Ben Simmons on a team that already was expected to be a major Eastern Conference contender this season.
"The biggest challenge is piecing all this together," 76ers coach Brett Brown said. "It's not even close. ... I say that completely from an excitement standpoint. This isn't a burden. Sure, it's a responsibility. But I'm excited with piecing this together."
Butler has averaged 21.8 points per game since the start of the 2014-15 season, the 13th-highest clip in the NBA over that span.
"I think he's going to bring toughness, scoring ability, a veteran," 76ers guard Markelle Fultz said after the team's shootaround practice in Miami on Monday, shortly before the deal was formally announced. "Just going to compete on both ends of the floor and I hope he pushes this team to a higher level."
There are three teams with multiple current teammates averaging at least that many points over those seasons. Golden State has three such players, with Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins, though he hasn't played yet this season for the Warriors while recovering from surgery.
Oklahoma City teammates Russell Westbrook and Paul George also have averaged that much — and now, Philly has such a pairing in Butler and Embiid.
Butler is the obvious headliner to this trade, though there will be some adjustments for the 76ers to make now that the deal is finally done.
Saric and Covington were key players for Philadelphia, combining to make 398 starters including playoffs for the 76ers during their time with the club. Saric averaged 13.5 points with the 76ers over parts of three seasons, while Covington averaged 12.9 points during his five seasons with Philly. They were the starting forwards for the 76ers in nearly every game last season, when Philadelphia had its best record since 2000-01 — the last time that the franchise went to the NBA Finals.
The deal between the teams was struck on Saturday, though couldn't become official until Monday when the NBA had what's known as a trade call — where all the terms of the swap are reviewed to ensure the deal is permissible under league rules.
It ends a two-month saga where there was no doubt that Butler was going to get traded out of Minnesota. He told the Timberwolves shortly before training camp that he wanted to be moved, which forced Minnesota's hand because it was obvious that Butler would not re-sign there next summer. So the options were move him for something, or lose him for nothing.
"He loves to win," Fultz said. "He's going to do whatever it takes to win."