Jimmy Butler Rumors: T-Wolves' All-Star requests Trade, Most Interested in LA Clippers

What's the story?

4-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler has reportedly requested a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In case you didn't know...

Last summer, Butler was traded from the Chicago Bulls to the Timberwolves along with the draft rights to the 16th pick in the 2018 Draft (Justin Patton) in exchange for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the draft rights to the 7th pick in the same Draft (Lauri Markkanen).

The heart of the matter

The Athletic's Shams Charania was the first one to report this trade request.

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

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The talk of Butler wanting out first came up in the rumor mill when the small forward wasn't keen to sign his extension with the team. But that could have been looked at as a financial move as he can simply make more money by signing with the Timberwolves next offseason if that was truly what he wanted.

Reports further detailed that Karl-Anthony Towns wasn't signing his rookie extension as well and was waiting for the franchise to deal with the Butler issue. There's obviously no confirmation but this trade request does give validation, to a certain extent, to that reported rift between Towns and Butler.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, later on Wednesday, reported on Butler's preferred landing spots while being traded.

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

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Wojnarowski later also points out that each of these teams does have a max cap slot in their salary cap to offer Butler a max deal once he becomes a free agent in 2019. Woj's report also states that Butler is downplaying the reported rift with Towns.

What's next?

This trade request, although granted that both were different circumstances, has got to make you think if the problem in Chicago was the organization or Butler. Either way, if he is indeed traded, then he would be on his third team in three years and yes, he's looking to sign a max extension next summer but that's never a good look.