In the latest episode of the NBA’s everlasting soap opera, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been described as a team to watch as the Miami Heat attempt to trade Jimmy Butler.
“Keep an eye on Minnesota in a Butler deal,” SNY.tv’s Ian Begley writes. “In the offseason, the Heat were one of the teams that expressed interest in trading for Julius Randle… Randle has remained on the Heat’s radar during the Butler saga.”
Though it could get complicated, there are trade configurations that could make sense.
Timberwolves Could Trade Julius Randle Amid Jimmy Butler Saga
One such example sees the Timberwolves and Heat getting the Golden State Warriors and Detroit Pistons on the horn.
In this scenario, Julius Randle heads to Miami, along with Warriors forward Kyle Anderson and center Kevon Looney. Warriors wing Andrew Wiggins is traded back to the Timberwolves, the team he played for in the beginning of his career. As Minnesota is over the second apron and can’t aggregate contracts, Wiggins is the only player that they would acquire.
Meanwhile, Butler is traded to Golden State, one of the teams that he’s long been linked to. Kevin Love, one of the few teammates who has publicly supported Butler while he’s been embroiled in drama, winds up with the Warriors as well. In order to make the trade legal from a financial standpoint, Golden State trades Gary Payton II and Lindy Waters III to the Pistons. Both Payton and Waters are on expiring contracts, but draft compensation sweetens the deal.
Why The Heat Make The Trade
The Heat don’t solve all of their issues with this move but overhaul half of their frontcourt.
Randle provides Miami with another scorer who can get it done in isolation. He could also give Terry Rozier the pick-and-roll partner that he hasn’t had since his arrival. However, Haywood Highsmith could remain in the first unit for defensive purposes. Really, why not, given that his promotion over Butler turned up the heat in Miami? Thus, the Heat would start Randle at small forward, surrounding him with Highsmith, Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, and Kel’el Ware.
Their second unit would be comprised of Rozier, Anderson, Looney, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Nikola Jovic.
Why The Timberwolves Make The Trade
The Timberwolves turning back the clock could get them out of their rut.
Wiggins is now a knockdown three-point shooter, converting 38.2 percent of his attempts over the past five seasons. This is obviously an advantage he has over Randle, who’s made 34.4 percent of his three-point attempts since 2020-21. Wiggins is also regarded as one of the league’s better on-ball defenders, a reputation that Randle does not hold, to say the least. Though the former No. 1 pick doesn’t fix their rebounding concerns, he’s a better fit overall.
Joining Wiggins in the first unit would be Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, and Donte DiVincenzo. Minnesota’s primary bench pieces would be Rob Dillingham, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Naz Reid and Mike Conley.
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