Jimmy Butler wants out of Minnesota

Jimmy Butler has requested a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves, league sources tell me and @JonKrawczynski. Butler has given Minnesota a list of one-to-three teams with whom he's open to signing extension, in anticipation of trade.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 19, 2018

Buckle up Boston Celtics fans, one of those three teams is reportedly the Knicks, so the “Kyrie is teaming up with Butler in New York” rumors are going to flyyyyyy.

Miami is reportedly one of the other teams. I haven’t seen who the third team is yet.

— UPDATE–

Minnesota's Jimmy Butler has three preferred destinations for a trade, league sources tell ESPN: The Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks. Those three teams have max cap space to sign Butler as a free agent in July.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 19, 2018

As for Boston’s potential involvement… that’s going to be tough to pull off. The Celtics aren’t giving up any of their stars for Butler, and I’d be shocked if they included Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum. A deal involving Marcus Smart, Marcus Morris and picks works, but not until mid-January when Smart is allowed to be traded.

That means the Celtics are, at best, involved as a third team or they’ll have to get creative. I don’t think Butler is worth getting that creative for.

I think Boston just sits and watches this one play out. I’m curious to see if one of the Celtics’ competitors makes a move for Butler. What if Milwaukee or Philly was able to pick him up (I haven’t checked to see what those trades might be)?

And if you’re wondering how the players in Minnesota feel, here’s Andrew Wiggins’ brother’s (since deleted) tweet:

Media day is just a week away for teams. Most players who might be involved in a trade like this can’t be moved until December 15th with a few (like Smart, because he was signed by his over-the-cap team using Bird rights) not eligible until January 15th. This feels like something that’s likely to drag into the season, especially if Thibs feels like he can repair strained relationships.